Students escaped the torrent of rain on Tuesday by taking up some friendly competition at the Activity Center. Rounding out the intramural schedule, the Department of Recreational Services hosted a cornhole tournament.
With the weather causing many to take a literal rain check, few came out to participate. However, those who toughed the showers made it to the AC with the drive to compete.
Only two teams made up the men’s bracket. Rather than competing in a winner-takes-all match, teams “The Knee Replacements (PIKE)” and “Fan Boy and Chum Chum” played a best-of-three to decide the winner. Joseph Knight and Braden “Boogie” Moore of “The Knee Replacements” went on to claim the title of intramural cornhole champions.
Knight took time to appreciate his partner’s work, explaining how Moore went on a scoring streak.
“Boogie here, he had a round, really two rounds in a row, where he absolutely went lights out. I mean it was almost a four-bagger twice in a row,” Knight said. “Very impressive work.”
Moore and Knight said they consider themselves amateurs more than big time players. They also mentioned the backstory of their name, in which both players have injured their knees. Despite playing with knees at 100%, the two remained steadfast in their skill and took the competition.
Going beyond collegiate intramurals, Knight and Moore doubted participating in the professional world of cornhole. Moore toyed with the idea of joining a men’s league in the future but said he has no serious aspirations to be a pro. Knight responded more humorously when asked the same question.
“If that happens, then just know that every other thing that I want to do in my life just didn’t happen,” Knight said.
On the women’s side of the tournament, the title of champion went to a familiar name. Last year’s winner Carley Teekell returned to defend her title and accomplished just that. Despite not having the help of previous teammate Mollyann Moore, Teekell received help from her friend Hope Crowe to win the tournament.
Crowe credited her back-to-back champion teammate, but Teekell quickly pointed out Crowe’s contributions overall.
“The first two games, she did really well,” Teekell said. “The third game, I picked up some slack.”
Even though cornhole doesn’t strike most as an exciting sport, both players and spectators spoke on how exhilarating the game became. Bryce Corcoran, a spectator of the event, mentioned how an oddball sport like cornhole can make anybody get pumped.
“It’s the competitiveness people have in such a small sport because not everybody plays it every day,” Corcoran said. “But people are still wanting to win even though it’s just a small intramural thing.”