Blurs of floaties on the arms of students dash across the parking lot as screams of victory and excitement echoes in the distance. Senior Gotcha has turned our world into a water-filled battleground of winners and drenched losers.

Organized by seniors Matt Hoertig and Cassandra Opre, this thrilling tradition has quenched the desires of competitive seniors who have been looking forward to it since freshman year.  

“‘Senior Gotcha’ was created in order to promote positive involvement in the school for seniors,” senior and organizer Hoertig said.

The rules are simple: keep your floaties on during the first week, get your target before the deadline, and avoid water at all cost.

Once the first week had ended, floaties had become useless and the “real” game began with groups working together against individuals, hour-long camping trips outside houses and workplaces and complex lists of targets and eliminators. From here on out, the game had become more than it was intended to be. For some, the grand prize of $456.75 had been the main motivation for persisting on in the game.

“I invested a lot of money, effort, and most importantly time into the game,” senior Babak Aghassi said. “I even made some enemies because I got in too deep. I think I would have won.”

As the school parking lots had become off-limits and the first deadline was quickly approaching, seniors such as senior Davy Luoma turned to drastic, intricate plans to “get” their targets.

“My plan was to get my target to open the trunk with my brother’s help, but the problem was that when he opened the trunk, he was wearing a floatie,” Luoma said. “I immediately felt the pressure of now getting a target who knew I was after him.”

While there were no safe zones other than places of religious practice and moving vehicles, many seniors felt anxious to even step outside their house.

“I was super surprised that the person who had me as a target knew where I lived,” senior Chad Gibbon said. “I really did not expect to get out that morning while walking outside of my house.”

While the game had come to an unfortunate end, many seniors look back at the game with smiles of mischief and uncontrollable laughter.

“When I found out the game was over, I honestly didn’t care. I had fun playing while it lasted but I understand things gotten out of control,” Maureen McNamara said.

While the game had come to an unfortunate end, many seniors look back at the game with smiles of mischief and uncontrollable laughter.