Spirits High as Archrivals Compete on St. Mark's Day

Spirit Week lived up to its name as the School prepared for a showdown with archrival St. Mark’s School, generating enthusiasm with days of skits, songs, dorm competitions, and overall hoopla.

In the end, St. Mark’s squeaked to a win with a final overall tally of 6-5 for the day. Inside that score were Groton wins by girls and boys cross country, boys JV and varsity soccer, and girls varsity soccer. High points in excitement were the 2-0 win by boys varsity soccer, extending the team's winning streak to nine, and a two-point football loss that had the crowd hanging in anticipation down to the final seconds.

Leading up to Saturday’s games were activities that turned daily announcements into mini pep rallies. Each day had its own challenge, in which dorms competed for points. For Movie Monday, students adopted the character and attire of their favorite movie stars. On Tuesday, students dressed as their favorite faculty member. Wednesday was Crazy Hat Day/Commercial Day, which filled the Schoolhouse halls with outlandish hats and Roll Call with dorms' original commercials. Throwback Thursday paid tribute to the “good old days,” and on Friday students dressed as their favorite celebrities of the past.

By Roll Call on Saturday, the Schoolroom was filled with zebra stripes, School colors, and noisy, rollicking energy. At the close of St. Mark's Day, Second Formers pulled varsity team members around the Circle in the traditional cart pull, followed by a bonfire and the friendly toss of varsity athletes into the air.

In the end, though St. Mark’s kept the raccoon coat that for years has been the nostalgic prize for the winner of the good-natured competition, Groton felt like a winner thanks to strong, competitive play and abundant good spirit.

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