by Nicholas Diaz
Source: CCHS
Last Friday, Christopher Columbus High School hosted its first teacher wrestling match for Walk-A-Thon. It proved to be a major success considering the massive crowd that was seen in the plaza in front of the MAS building. Students were thrilled to watch their teachers fight in a real wrestling ring that Mr. De Tuya, the teacher who coordinated, planned, and participated in the event, rented with the help of Columbus alumni.
The unexpected wrestling match involving several Columbus teachers began with a smaller conflict between Mr. De Tuya and Mr. Marinelli. The rivalry started when Mr. Marinelli called out Mr. De Tuya on the announcements about a lack of Walk-A-Thon fundraising.
Source: CCHS
Mr. De Tuya commented, “Marinelli called me out for not having enough money in my homeroom. The reality is I hadn’t yet turned in my money from my Walk-A-Thon game, but never mind that… I challenged him to a match of honor and he’s going to regret it.”
Within only 30 hours, the wrestling match was planned in B-11, involving many more teachers than initially expected. Mr. Moro, Mr. Machado, Mr. Nunez, Mr. Ulloa, Mr. Hermida, Mr. Gulesian, Mr. Rivero, and Mr. Diaz were all featured with Mr. Meneses as the referee. Mr. De Tuya was even able to acquire a real wrestling ring for the event despite the short notice.
He explained, “I asked my 2011 alumni chat if anyone knew where to get a wrestling ring. After 30 seconds, we had a contact. They gave us 67% off, but it was still too expensive. I let the alumni know, and the alumni paid for it.”
Thanks to the Columbus brotherhood, Mr. De Tuya was able to plan this event in a remarkably short period of time without the expensive costs.
Source: CCHS
In the middle of second period, students who purchased tickets were excused from classes to watch the event. The wrestling event began with an opening match between Mr. Machado and Mr. Moro where Mr. Moro won. This was followed by a fight between Mr. Rivero and Mr. Gulesian as one team and Mr. Nunez as his own one-man team. Mr. Nunez was ultimately victorious and had a noteworthy celebration with two cans of Sprite on the ring ropes channeling “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Next up was Mr. Machado dressed as Belen Jesuit Jason against Mr. De Tuya dressed as Christopher Columbus Michael Meyers. Mr. De Tuya won the fight in his Michael Meyers mask and Columbus letterman. The next fight was Mr. Diaz and Mr. Ulloa against Mr. Hermida dressed in his red coat and Mr. Gulesian. In a turn of events, however, Mr. Hermida turned on Mr. Gulesian, although this did not stop Mr. Gulesian from securing the win over all three of his competitors.
Source: CCNN Live
The last and final fight of the day was the showdown between Mr. De Tuya dressed in his jiu-jitsu attire and Mr. Marinelli dressed in his New World Order outfit. The rivals fought fiercely with Mr. De Tuya sending Mr. Marinelli a kick from over three feet away, as Mr. Crossman noted, and Mr. Marinelli using a chair to hit Mr. De Tuya on the back. In response to the allegations that he used a chair, Mr. Marinelli commented, “We decided he deserved a chair and he got one… He took it like a champ.”
Although it initially appeared that Mr. Marinelli was the winner at the end of the fight, Br. Al unexpectedly entered the ring and beat Mr. Marinelli with only a single blow. After the fight, Mr. De Tuya commented, “I got hit with a low blow. Marinelli doesn’t fight fair… But it doesn’t matter because Br. Al saved the day.”
This event was a thrilling experience for the large crowd of students in the plaza area. There were students in the plaza, on the Mas building steps, on the bridge connecting the A and B buildings, in the second-floor hallways of these buildings, and in second-floor classrooms watching the fight below. There were even more students watching the fight live on their phones. Clearly students enjoyed the special event.
Some were even asking for a part two next year. Senior Sebastian Santana said, “I had my money on Machado, but sadly he didn’t win. We 100% need a part two.” Others were calling the event the best thing to happen this school year. Junior Kristopher Nodarse said, “This will be the best thing that happens for the entire year. Nothing will top this.”
Overall, Columbus’ first and hopefully not last teacher wrestling match was a major success, especially when considering how quickly it was planned. The event saw large crowds of student support, substantial funds raised for the school, and a day of overall fun for both students and teachers on the day before Walk-A-Thon. It was an exciting opportunity to promote school spirit.
Source: CCHS
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