The referee takes senior Gavin Hawes’s hand and lifts it up into the air, another victory, Gavin Hawes doesn’t waste a moment and takes the opportunity to strike a pose, flexing his arms to a crowd of eager onlookers all loaded into the Chap Court Cafeteria. Thursday, Jan. 12, the Boys and Girls Wrestling team battled it out with Vista Ridge in the 15th annual Lunch Room Brawl. 

The Lunch Room Brawl is possibly one of the best sports environments in Austin. With over 500 students, parents, teachers, and wrestlers packed wall to wall in the Chap Court during both lunch periods, the student body is united over one common goal: cheering on the wrestling team. Students in classes all over the commons couldn’t escape the stentorian cheers of the crowd as fans roared in excitement any time a Vista Ridge opponent was pinned to the ground.

“The Lunch Room Brawl was insane; I’ve never really been to a wrestling match, but it was really exciting,” senior Joey Spier said.

 For a relatively under-the-radar sport, the Lunch Room Brawl gives way for students to get into and cheer for the team without making an out-of-school time commitment. This definitely paid off as the match had a huge attendance, and as mentioned before, the atmosphere was absolutely electric; students were on their feet as their fellow peers pinned down Vista Ridge wrestlers. 

“They should definitely do more sporting events during the school day as it gets better and allows for lesser-known sports to get the spotlight,” senior Jonathon Kahn said. 

The home-field advantage and the atmosphere were well worth it as we ended up victorious over Vista Ridge. Senior returners Adam Hinedi and Gavin Hawes both took victories with Hinedi defeating his opponent with a first-round tap-out. Junior Ava Rodgers also took home a memorable victory when she flipped her opponent mid-air during her match much to the crowd of students’ amusement.

“The win was really exciting,” senior Adam Hinedi said.

The Lunch Room Brawl was a huge success and not only for the team. The Special Olympics partnered with the wrestling team to raise money during the matches. Over $866 was collected for the Special Olympics and this amount was matched by EISD Board member Ellen Balthazar making the total amount raised $1772. 

“It was great to see the match end up helping out an important cause, it really shows what the team is about,” senior wrestler Brick Tucker said. 

Students can’t wait for next year’s lunchroom brawl. Hopefully, this event will pave the way for future in-school events as it would make it all the more accessible for students to participate and allow for different sports to have their moment.