Students veered left and right as two lacrosse stick-wielding Flock members dressed as Moses parted the middle of the cheering section. It was a spectacle meant to resemble the biblical parting of the Red Sea and marked the return of a tradition that Biola’s student section leaders hope will become a lasting trademark of Eagles games.
Students swarmed Chase Gymnasium on Nov. 11 for this year’s version of Midnight Madness, the annual celebration of the athletics program. The gym was decked out in school spirit as the red and white lights lit up the excited painted faces of current and prospective students in attendance. The Biola Dance Crew and cheer team rallied the crowd into rooting for their favorite sports teams, and the women’s basketball team claimed victory over the men’s team in the three-point contest.
RESURRECTED TRADITIONS
After the Flock made its debut at last year’s Midnight Madness, this time around they headed up a new tradition of parting the Red Sea, the name for Biola’s student section. The Flock announced that this will become a new practice for future sporting events.
“It’s something that we’ve been trying to do for the last couple years, and so talking with Biola Athletics, they were really behind it and trying to get it as like a big game tradition, ‘cause we don’t really have a lot of those right now,” said junior journalism major Seth Subt, president and cofounder of the Flock. “We really wanna get some big things started, and so to bring that for the [Azusa Pacific University] game or something like that, it’s gonna be really intimidating and were excited to bring it out for that.”
The concept parting the Red Sea is not entirely new, as another Flock leader said it had been used in previous years at Biola.
“I believe that Biola has done it a long time ago at games, like at least 10 years ago, so we’re bringing it back,” said senior worship major Laney Ribota.
The Biola Dance Crew and the cheer team also returned this year to captivate the audience with some explosive new routines. Biola Dance Crew was the first to take the floor.
“We just know how hard the team has worked for this and it’s such a huge payoff and to hear all the support from the rest of the school is amazing,” said sophomore psychology major Jordyn Hatfield, one of the Dance Crew’s two captains.
Through the process of preparing for the event, Dance Crew co-captain and sophomore intercultural studies major Anna Gustafson has seen the team come together.
“It’s been truly a blessing to see how they’ve encouraged one another and how they’ve grown in this and how they’ve been able to serve our school in this way,” Gustafson said.
CONTEST TIME
The first competition of the night pitted the men’s and women’s basketball teams against each other in a 3-point competition, with four players from each squad participating. The men came in as the defending champions, but the women proved ready for revenge this year.
“It felt really good. It was a lot of pressure at first, but then you gotta get into a rhythm and it’s great to have your teammates around to help out,” said redshirt freshman guard Danita Estorga.
With a lopsided final score of 30-19, the women’s basketball team claimed the trophy, closed out by excellent shooting from Estorga.
“I think it does bring a lot of attention to women’s basketball since we don’t get a lot of it, and I think it’s really great that the school gets to see both teams come out here and compete against each other,” Estorga said.
Next up came the dunk contest, where redshirt sophomore guard Tyus Dennis faced off against senior guard Trevor Treinen in an epic battle.
Dennis went with a unique approach, with one of his teammates throwing a ball from the second floor stands down to him as he attempted the dunk. Although none of his tries were successful, he received a high score due to creativity. Then Treinen stepped up.
On his first two attempts, Treinen attempted to go through his legs in midair and dunk the ball, but he failed to complete the dunk. However, his third try won him the competition as he slammed home a reverse dunk that he pumped down low before putting it through the net.
“It feels so good, ‘cause it’s my fourth year doing it, and I haven’t gotten a win yet,” said Treinen. “I had to leave with a win, so I’m happy that I got it this year.”
