1. Riverside High School Hosts 72nd Annual Sports Night
By Carleen Bryan
Ah, Sports Night- a tradition so epic that it actually has the power to physically
paint the town of Riverside in maroon and white. Spoon race, fast finale, optional?
Maroon Team? White Team? Spoiler alert: if you’re from Riverside, you’ll never forget
it. If you aren’t, well, you’ll never quite get it.
On April 17 and 18, Riverside High School hosted its 72nd Annual Sports Night at
the Pop Vernon Field House. Sports Night Advisors Nicole Potts and Lauren Veneziani
decided on the theme “Box Office Bliss” for both teams. The Maroon Team Captain was
Lyndsay Micucci and the White Team Captain was Alix VanSciver.
For one month, both teams prepared what they thought was the best interpretation
of “Box Office Bliss” by writing scripts for skits, choreographing dances, building
scenery and making costumes. Before they knew it, the big night came and it was time to
present all of their hard work and creativity.
The Maroon and White Teams performed before a full house on both Friday and
Saturday nights. Though they wanted to make their families, friends and fans proud, their
ultimate goal was to knock the socks off the judges.
Kicking off both nights were the Maroon and White cheerleaders. They proved
themselves adorable as always as the White Team girls dressed as bags of popcorn and
Maroon Team girls dressed as directors. Both cheer teams danced to upbeat songs such as
“Dirty Pop” by ‘N Sync and “Rockstar” by Hannah Montana.
Similar to previous years, the Maroon Team and White Team took different
approaches to the “Box Office Bliss” theme. The White Team made reference to box

2. office hits such as The Godfather and Hairspray as they ventured around their Mighty
Whitey Movie Theater. They topped off their finale with “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift.
On the other side of the gym, the Maroon Team strived to bring the famous
Riverside Fox Theater back to life with the success of their original movie, “Reign of the
Roonies.” The Maroon Team danced to popular hits by the band, Maroon 5.
The competitive spirit between Maroon and White was evident as they continued
to battle head-to-head during the jazz dance performances and sports races. However, we
were quickly reminded what Sports Night is all about when Maroon and White honored
Riverside heroes Amanda Jester and Denise Reale DiMiero during their optional
performances. The Maroon Team made us daydream about somewhere sunny and 75
with their “Paradise” theme while the White Team’s “Disney” theme brought out the
inner child in all of us.
Two big announcements happened at the end of Friday and Saturday nights: the
crowning of the queens and the announcement of the winner. On Friday night, Allie
Jenkins (Miss RHS), Taylor DeJoseph (Miss White) and Elizabeth Zwick (Miss Maroon)
were crowned Sports Night Royalty.
On Saturday night, the Maroon and White Teams huddled together with sweaty
hands and heavy hearts as their friends and families sat on the edge of their seats. It was
time for the announcement of the winner.
With a final score of 584-574, the Maroon Team took home the win for the fourth
year in a row. “Being able to bring home a victory for not only myself, but with my
whole team is what it’s all about,” said Maroon Team Captain, Lyndsay Micucci. “I now

3. have closed this chapter of my life in the most perfect way and I have friendships and
memories that will last forever.”
As the tradition proves year after year, there can only be one winner of Sports
Night, but in reality, both teams win. They win the thrill and the experience. They win the
memories and friendships that will forever remain in their hearts. “I have made so many
friendships that will last a lifetime,” said White Team Captain, Alix VanSciver. “I
couldn’t ask for anything more than what my team gave me this past month and I
absolutely love them all so much. I’ll be looking forward to what they have in store these
next few years.”
Sports Night: it is entirely too loud and too hot. We sit in bleachers, shoulder to
shoulder, for four hours, screaming at the top of our lungs for our teams to “get on the
good foot” and “pump it up.” Why do we do it?
We do it for the freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors on the Maroon and
White Teams. We do it for the Maroon Team dad who brags about the scenery he helped
build, the White Team mom who cries as she watches slow finale and the Maroon Team
grandmom who busts a move in the stands. We do it for the White Team brother who
wishes he was somewhere else, the Maroon Team best friend who covers her eyes during
the spoon race and the group of White Team alumni who wishes they could turn back
time.
We do it because Sports Night is what separates Riverside from the other towns.
It is a tradition so unique that you have to experience it to completely understand its
importance. It has forever made an impact on the students who walk in the doors of RHS

4. and will continue to do so in the future. It just keeps getting better. Here’s to another 72
years.