Madness Packs Spaulding Gym

From Stuart Kaufman, Sports Information: A capacity crowd of Madness neophytes and veteran night owls packed the gym for a night of hoopla and hoops at the 12th annual Midnight Madness celebration last Friday at Spaulding Gym.

From the opening national anthem (where the students sang along with the Chock Full O Notes group), through the contests and exuberance, to the confetti-blasting finale, Madness 2008 ushered in the basketball season in grand style.

There was something for everybody: A sumo-race, a motorized-toilet race through an obstacle course, a near miss on a $10,000 half-court shot, stellar displays of basketball skill, and performances by the KSC cheerleading squad and dance team.

The large cheerleading squad — consisting of 22 members, including 14 freshmen — kicked off the festivities and brought the house down with their fabulous routine.

At the stroke of midnight, the Owl basketball teams entered the gym and the players treated the fans to hot-shot and dunk competitions. Cody Snow, a flying freshman from Leyden, Mass., won the contest. Not to be outdone, several members of the women’s team hoisted Michele Boudreau up on their shoulders so the senior guard could attempt a slam.

The dance team brought the Madness to a close with a nifty number that concluded with a cannon blasting red and white confetti all over the court. “It’s our biggest event of the year,” said Amanda Currao, a senior from Salem and one of 24 dance team performers. ”We like being on last and finishing Madness with a bang.”

Photo: Mike Phillips; KSC Midnight Madness