City College student athletes shed their respective team jerseys for masks, costumes and a fun night of bowling shenanigans for the first annual Vaqueros All-Sports Halloween Bowl.
More than 180 City College athletes occupied 18 lanes at Zodo’s Bowling and Beyond for some good, competitive Halloween fun. The event gave the athletes a safe and fun alternative to that of a standard Halloween night in Isla Vista.
“It’s good to get kids out of Isla Vista, especially the athletes where we could get into a lot of trouble,” said Stephen Magnuson, a redshirt freshman baseball player.
Athletes from nearly all City College sports competed with each other for trophies and t-shirts or best team score and best costume. Coaches also had a best costume contest.
Athletic Director, Ryan Byrne, and Community Development for Athletics coordinator, Kim Schuck, put the event on for City College to get Vaqueros off the field and court and into the community.
“We are really trying to promote Vaqueros athletics in the Santa Barbara community, showing that fundraising and putting our students out there [and] how positive it can be,” said Schuck.
Schuck had planned on roughly 50 athletes making it out to the lanes but as the night progressed more and more costumed student athletes were eager to get into bowling shoes and start “rolling the rock.”
“We had to keep expanding the number of lanes because so many people came,” said Schuck. “Next year we will get all of the 24 lanes.”
Events like this provide an environment where athletes and coaches can have a good time outside of their sport with less tension and expectation of performance where all can be themselves.
“At practice everyone has a number on their jersey but you don’t know anything about them and this brings another perspective,” said assistant men’s basketball coach Randy Moharram. “It makes it more personable.”
Moharram was one of several coaches that made the trip out to the lanes to partake in the fun. He was also awarded the best coach costume for an impeccable banana outfit.
“We had a very good turnout from our team and the program here,” said Moharram. “It brings another dimension to the word ‘team.’”
Healthy and competitive rivalries were established amongst the teams at a sport where no specific team held an upper hand or had any advantages. Athletes are naturally born with competitive personalities and through the laughs and outrageous costumes that remained true.
“It’s always nice to get them away from school and their sport,” said head football coach Craig Moropoulos. “It takes our minds off our games, but the competitive nature is still there.”
When all was said and done, the winning trio of Brianna Robinson, from women’s soccer, and Josh Vaith and Julian Patten, from football, received the coveted best team score trophy.
Editors Note: This story has been revised from a previous version
