During today’s Spirit Week lunch rally on the Palo Alto High School football field, the sophomores came in first, beating the freshmen, juniors and seniors in the relay race competition.

A 12-person-team from each grade participated in the activity and competed in legs that included the egg carrier and wet clothes contests.

The seniors got off to a strong start by staying ahead from the beginning and beat the freshmen in the first race. Following the dominant senior performance, the sophomores pulled off an upset victory against the juniors in the second heat. The juniors earned third by beating the freshmen and the sophomores consolidated their win by beating the seniors in the last race.

Sophomore Kevin Bowers, one of the participants in the relay, was pleased with results.

“We [won] and that’s what matters,” Bowers said. “We all came together and talked about it before. We’ve been planning the relay race for a day or two so we were ready for it.”

The sophomores  received kudos for their strong performance in today’s competition.

“They did a good job,” senior Josh Stern said. “They proved themselves. I know that there was a little bit of bad blood between the [sophomores and juniors], but they really stepped up and they did pretty well.”

“The rally today was pretty intense,” junior Anish Haris said. “The [sophomores, juniors, and seniors] were pretty solid, especially the junior class.”

“I thought it was fun,” Stern said. “I was one of the participants in the relay so I didn’t quite have the experience the crowd had, but it was definitely fun and highly spirited.”

The sophomores will extend their 55-point lead after Day 2 with today’s victory. Scores will be released after float building is finished today.

Keep checking The Paly Voice to stay updated on all things Spirit Week-related.