Campus Rec hosted its first-ever Hillsdale Olympics Feb. 12 to Feb 16.
Courtesy | Campus Rec

Niedfeldt Residence and Team Ritchey took gold this week in Campus Rec’s Hillsdale Olympics.

Diverse teams — from friend groups to dorms to fraternities and sororities — competed in activities similar to Homecoming week, according to sophomore Campus Rec promo team member sophomore Ethan Bourgeois. 

“It was supposed to be a type of pseudo-homecoming,” he said.

The week consisted of five days of competition, according to Bourgeois, including an all-star challenge on Monday where participants showed off their talents in hockey, basketball, and soccer; a night of Wii bowling in the union on Tuesday; a warrior challenge showing off participants’ speed, agility, and strength on Wednesday; a jersey design competition on Thursday; and, to top off the week, a game of tug of war.

Bourgeois said the Campus Rec team is happy with the participation throughout the week.

“The week overall went really well,” he said. “It was actually a lot better of a turnout than we thought it was going to be. We knew that the events and this week were going to be slow to start off.”

He said from here, the Campus Rec team hopes to expand the event to make it even more like homecoming week, but that will come with time.

“To have an event that size takes a lot of work, and that takes a lot of commitment on our part as well as on the part of the campus,” he said. “So there are some things we need to iron out. But overall, it went a lot better than we ever would have hoped it would have for the first time.”

Sophomore Miriam Ritchey, Campus Rec promotions team member and captain of Team Ritchey, said she spontaneously entered the Olympics and found random friends to compete with her each day.

“I wanted to compete in the 60-meter dash and dead hang, but I didn’t have a team and I wasn’t sure what I would be able to commit to,” she said. “I found some of my friends in the library on Tuesday and asked if they wanted to play Wii Sports and help glitter a jersey. They said yes.”

Her team consisted of different people each day and grew as the week went on, she said.

“I kept inviting people to join my team throughout the week which was a lot of fun,” Ritchey said. 

Junior Niedfeldt resident assistant Greg Moreno said the men of Niedfeldt were proud to bring home the win this week.

“It was a fun event for Niedfeldt to participate in and we enjoy being involved in campus culture and competitions,” Moreno said. “In addition, we have a strong tendency to win the things we compete in.”

The dorm’s team was composed of different men depending on the day, Moreno said.

“We had a variety of different people compete in different events throughout the week depending on who was available on a given day,” he said. “But whoever showed up and came ready to have some fun and win for the dorm was the team for the day.”

Bourgeois said the Wii bowling night was a crowd favorite from the week. 

“It was absolutely loved by everybody and got everybody excited,” he said. “You know, everybody’s got that time in their life where they just played Wii Sports nonstop.”

Junior Kaeleigh Otting, member of the Sorority Coalition team and vice president of the Hillsdale Bowling Club, won the Wii bowling contest on Tuesday evening and said she was initially duped into participating.

“I was lied to by Erika Mogelvang that it was real bowling, and I was really excited because I like to bowl,” she said. “But then she tells me an hour beforehand that it’s not real bowling, and I was a little broken-hearted, to be honest.”

Despite being fooled, Otting dominated the competition.

“My favorite part about that night was winning the medal because I never get awards for sports, so I’ll take what I can get,” she said.

Otting also said she is proud of her victory.

“It feels great to be the champ,” she said. “I have always thought I was the best bowler ever, especially here. Even if I only won Wii bowling, I still beat everyone else.”

Ritchey said Wednesday’s warrior challenge was her favorite event of the week. 

“The best moment was when my teammate Ellery placed second in max squat with 215 lbs and then won the dead hang,” Ritchey said. 

Bourgeois said he enjoyed Wednesday’s event because of the sportsmanship on display.

“Watching the squat competition was pretty amazing because you had about 20 to 30 people all cooped up in the JAM, all cheering and shouting for each other as they’re going on,” he said. 

Bourgeois said he is happy Hillsdale Olympics embodied the true aim of Campus Rec.

“But at the same time as all that camaraderie, you’ve had that competition and that is really at the heart of Campus Rec – that is what we’re trying to go for is that we want to encourage camaraderie,” he said. “We want to encourage excitement and friendship through competition and through pushing each other to be better. So that was pretty special.”

Ritchey said that despite a small turnout this year, the Campus Rec team plans to continue with Hillsdale Olympics in years to come.

“We want Hillsdale Olympics to be a casual, competitive, fun week where friends unite from across campus,” she said. “We knew the first year would have a small turn out, and we were pleased with how many people came. As campus becomes more familiar with Hillsdale Olympics with repetition, participation will grow. We hope to see more friends form teams in future years.”