//Molly Houser and Paige Gerling//

Day three of homecoming week was filled to the brim with rowdy events and opportunities for students to get involved in. Students swarmed the bleachers at the dodgeball game, lined up for warm chili at the Chili Cook-off and crowded the fields to watch the bonfire.

On Wednesday morning, students exchanged their regular sweatpants and hoodies for khakis and dress shoes. The dress up day, Business Casual, had students dressing their best.

“Dress up days are fun because everyone dresses the same,” freshman Miles Ellsworth-Purcell said. “It feels like a special thing you have to do instead of waking up and putting on a pair of regular pants.”

Despite the excitement leading up to the scheduled 4:30 varsity softball game against Regis Jesuit, rain and thunder loomed overhead. The game was cancelled after the first inning, with Regis leading 2-1.

“I was kind of disappointed at first, but I also had a dodgeball team,” sophomore Ashton Lambert said. “So we’re talking about rescheduling for next Wednesday.”

However, the damp start to the evening didn’t dampen the students’ spirit. The dodgeball game started at 6 p.m in the main gym, with students showing up to either play or support.

“We were on the second team. We played and lost, then we played again later and then lost again,” junior Skyler Naclerio said. “It was a fun way to get involved in the school during homecoming. I hadn’t done it before, so I thought why not.”

Luckily, when students were tired of playing or hungry after a long game, the football team put on a Chili Cook-off in the commons. The team holds the cookout every year during homecoming, and despite the change in coaching leadership, the tradition stayed.

“Basically, the Chili Cook-off represents the football team. All the players bring their own crockpot and chili and we all serve it,” junior Sterling Spry said. “I ended up bringing just like a chili with some beef. We got some beans in there, some spices and some sauce, but it sold out pretty fast.”

Directly after the dodgeball game ended, the bonfire kicked off. Held every year during homecoming, Vista puts together a bonfire and lights fireworks to celebrate the week and the community.

For Junior Kaishya Desai, the bonfire wasn’t just a celebration of the week, but a celebration of her birthday.

“Having the bonfire and fireworks on my birthday was just amazing, I got to hang out with my friends and it was really a gift for it to be on my special day,” Desai said. “I like the bonfire because it shows the school tradition and that MV really cares about making [homecoming] week really epic.” 

Photos by: Emma Holt, Brayden Tuers, Annabelle Kiely, Bella Carpinelli