Wyatt Davis
Staff Writer
Costa basketball held their third annual Mustang Madness on Nov. 7, a pep rally style event to promote the upcoming basketball season.
Mustang Madness was inspired by similar events put on by collegiate basketball programs, such as Duke University’s Countdown to Craziness and USC Trojan HoopLa. The event was organized by girls basketball assistant coach Haley Herdman, who played basketball at LMU.
“When I came, the midnight madness event that LMU had was always my favorite event of the year,” Herdman said. “I always knew I wanted to implement that into our high school atmosphere.”
Fans watched a dunk contest, a three-point contest, and performances from dance, cheer, and band. According to senior cheerleader Sawyer Bertino, being a part of the event was a thrilling experience.
“The parents and the other students brought a lot of energy to the event,” Bertino said. “The excitement from the crowd made it a lot of fun.”
Many of the players on both the girls and boys varsity basketball teams are making their debut on varsity this year, meaning that this was the first time participating in Mustang Madness. According to junior small forward Jayden Kainsinger, the event amped up the players themselves for the season in addition to entertaining the spectators.
The dunk contest was the main event of the night. LA Chargers wide receiver Brendan Rice, who is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, made an appearance as a judge in the dunk contest, along with Chargers defensive back coach Steven Clinkscale. Senior forward Eneasi Piuleini won the dunk contest.
“It just gets better every year!” Herdman said. “ This event takes lots of organizing, planning in advance, community outreach, and research on what some of the best college programs are doing. It is all worth it to see the finished product.”
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