After eight months of competition, the Ursuline Cup finals took place on April 19 with a total of 85 points possible. Martina became the winner, making it the first herd to win the Ursuline Cup twice, on April 25 with a total of 220.8 points.

“It was really exciting when they announced Martina the winner,” senior Martina exec Carly Kurt said. “It was also really relieving because all of the work that we put into it paid off, and it was really fun when we heard our name be called.”

This year’s Ursuline Cup finals consisted of “Just Dance,” obstacle course, circle the wagon, Chicago ball (finished the week prior),  tug-of-war, 4×100 relay, frozen T-shirt, four corners and cheese ball toss. Senior Tylicki exec Peter Dessert said that his favorite competition was “Just Dance” because it is more inclusive.

“I feel like anyone can do it,” Dessert said. “It’s one of the few competitions that isn’t about how athletic you are.”

Sophomore Elise Oblepias said that her favorite competition was “Just Dance” as well because she got to see her friends compete and enjoyed watching teachers, especially biology teacher Emily Knaus.

“She got a perfect every time, and it was honestly really amazing to see all the students watch and everyone was cheering her on,” Oblepias said. 

Kurt said that she enjoyed being able to end the day with herd competitions, but wished the herd day would have been a half day, like in the years past. Due to snow days, students had to go to class until about 1:30 p.m. before starting the competition. 

“I think herd competitions bring energy into the school and make it more interesting when you get to end the day as a school and as a community,” Kurt said.

Oblepias said that herd competitions are a really good chance to build community and work together for one common goal. She said that she enjoys getting to meet a variety of different people through the herd system. 

“It builds a sense of school spirit because everyone competes and they have a goal to work towards together, and I think that helps build relationships with each other and get to know people through the hardships you go through when you’re trying to win,” Oblepias said.