The seniors won today’s morning rally cheer wars as a result of innovative cheers and some wild dance moves. However, the freshmen came away with the most points after the rally, due to a 131-person turnout, more than any other class, and a third-place finish in the cheer war.

As part of the Age Day theme, students came to school dressed to represent different stages of life. Freshmen came as babies, sophomores as teeny-boppers, juniors as sophisticates, and seniors as senior citizens. The morning rally kicked off to a wild start when the juniors shouted the first cheer, starting a battle that would not end until 45 minutes later.

The seniors won the cheer war thanks to the hard work of spirited dancers. Throughout the rally, seniors waved canes and walkers at the other classes and shook their stuffed behinds. The juniors came in second in the cheer wars, freshmen third, and sophomores fourth.

One of the highlights of the rally occurred when the seniors left their bleachers and danced laps around the center of the gym, singing, “Na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye.”

The cheer is a tradition at Paly.

“I always look forward to the part when the seniors get to parade around the gym in the morning rally,” senior Becky Byler said.

Other seniors echoed her feelings.

“In the morning rally, I loved how the seniors came together and dominated,” said senior Joerelle Bennett, who was dancing and leading the senior cheers.

The freshmen came in first for overall spirit points at the morning rally, thanks to the 131 people who showed up.

“All the freshmen were really excited because it was their first morning rally,” freshman Shawn Clayton said.

The pajama- and diaper-clad freshmen amassed a total of 181 spirit points over the course of the morning. The seniors and formally-attired juniors each won 170 points, and the sophomores, dressed in greaser-themed clothing, scored 62 points.

The rally also acted as a fundraiser for the Associated Student Body, with each student’s $2 ticket not only buying him admission and free doughnuts, but also going towards ASB.

ASB held more than one rally today, and as lunch began, students quickly filled up the stands for their classes and gathered for the lunchtime rally. After several minutes of hollering cheers, students began to participate in a Tricycle Relay Race, the main event for the rally.

Working in teams of four students, the classes raced against each other on small tricycles around a course that had been set up on the quad. Each race pitted two classes against each other: the seniors battled against the sophomores, and the juniors competed against the freshmen.

The races began with the first member of each team holding his or her forehead to a baseball bat and spinning in a circle three times, and then hopping on a tricycle and weaving in and out of a line of cones. When the first team member completed this task, the next team member rode the tricycle while simultaneously picking up four pieces of candy, and then gobbled them down as fast as he or she could. After eating all the candy, there was another tag out, and the course repeated itself with the third and fourth team members.

Throughout the races today, one of the classes always took and mostly maintained the lead; there usually wasn’t much mystery about who would win after watching the race for a few moments.

Junior Stephen Lim thought this was because of the tricycles themselves.

“One of the tricycles was broken and really hard to steer,” Lim said. “Whoever won each race was pretty much decided by what tricycle they got.”

During the rally, the judges told everyone that the tricycles were equally broken, and that the tricycle that someone rode made no overall difference in score or performance.

Out of the first two races of the day, the seniors and the freshmen won. A third race was held between the juniors and sophomores to decide third and fourth places. The juniors won this race, and the seniors and freshmen will be racing for first place tomorrow at lunch on the quad.

No winner was determined for the cheering at the lunch rally, and no points were given for cheering during the lunch rally either, according to judges ballots.

With the different classes having all succeeded at different events throughout the week, the battle for Spirit Week supremacy looks like it will come down to Friday’s lunch rally and the after-school float presentation and spirit dance.

“Everyone’s participation was great,” junior Spirit Week organizer Olivia Diamond said. “Seniors and juniors are neck-and-neck, and it should be a good race.”

The floats underwent finishing touches Thursday after school, and will be presented during Friday’s rally.

The senior Emerald City float is made up of a yellow brick road leading to a green castle. The float is complete with a rainbow.

The junior “Goldmember” float has a psychedelic theme. The float consists of several gold and silver miniature windmills placed on a disco foreground. In the background is a large “2010.”

The sophomore lifeguard-themed boat is made up of an inflatable pool and lifeguard towers placed on a sandy beach foreground. In the background are lifesaver rings and a large sign reading “2011 Sophomores: We’ll save your class.”

The sophomores hope that the float presentation and spirit dance will help them come back from what has been so far a disappointing Spirit Week for them.

“There are a few people who think Spirit Week is more about insulting other classes than cheering on their own,” sophomore Kevin Ward said.

“We’ll definitely have a chance to place well if we do well tomorrow,” Sophomore Class President George Brown said.

The freshman float contains surfboards planted in the foreground, including one reading “12” to represent the class of 2012. The left side of the float is a Tiki theme hut with signs reading “Tropicana” and “100% Fresh.”

The floats will be presented tomorrow, Oct. 24, after school at the football field.