By Drew Wolfson ’27
Students play in BoarPen’s spikeball tournament.
Behind the tournament brackets and megaphones stand the ultimate forces of school spirit: Choate’s BoarPen. Whether it be at athletic competitions, Friday-night activities, or theater productions, BoarPen fills the community with excitement and gold and blue pride. Over the course of the spring term, they plan to host several friendly competitions for students to enjoy.
The six seniors that make up BoarPen — Ximena Castillo Núñez ’24, Brecken Cullinan ’24, Tariq El Mammann ’24, Philip Harris ’24, Carter Linardos ’24, and Sophie Sharko ’24 — are in their final term at Choate and are running their last events for the School.
This month, BoarPen took advantage of the spring weather and held a spikeball and a kickball tournament. The spikeball tournament took place on the Class of ’76 Field on April 12, with over 150 participants. There were 77 teams, with Silas Streeter ’25 and Will Henderson ’25 playing five games before winning first place. Spikeball partners since freshman year, Streeter and Henderson were excited about their win and expressed their appreciation for BoarPen. “BoarPen did an amazing job facilitating the tournament. I think everything was very organized and planned out, which made for a super fun event,” Streeter said.
Being on BoarPen, however, comes with several challenging responsibilities, such as scheduling events and maximizing student participation. Castillo Nuñez shared, “I think people not submitting [sign-ups] by the deadline makes organizing things the most challenging, because we want to include everyone, but we can’t because of logistics.” In addition, there’s an extensive to-do list for event preparation. “We had to figure out how to get the nets, chaperones, and the field. There’s a lot that goes into communicating with the faculty and facilities,” Harris said.
Even so, BoarPen does a great job of hosting accommodating events open to students with diverse interests and athletic skill levels. Fernanda Opazo Aravena ’25 is a fan of the versatility of spikeball and participated in the tournament with partner Em DeGrand ’24. “I really like spikeball. I feel like everyone enjoys spikeball, and it doesn’t matter if you’re an athlete or not,” Opazo Aravena said.
The following week, on April 19, BoarPen organized a kickball tournament on the turf fields where six teams competed. For everyone on the field, including both the nearly 70 students who participated in the event and those who came to support, the vibes were electric. Savannah Emery ’26 said, “Even being on the sidelines was really fun because everyone was cheering together.” Team One, composed of 11 students, ultimately brought home the title after winning three hard-fought games. Finalist Sophie Li ’26 said, “It was a great atmosphere thanks to how BoarPen organized it. We got the bracket a few days before, and I feel like there was enough notice that it went smoothly.”
In anticipation of the year’s end, BoarPen is preparing two of its signature events: the President’s Softball Cup (P-Cup) and the Powderpuff Tournament. Named after the 35th President of the United States and alumnus John F. Kennedy ’35, the P-Cup will start on May 5 and continue for the next four Sundays. The tournament consists of a multi-week shortened softball game where teams separated by dorm compete for the trophy.
Another highly anticipated BoarPen event is the upcoming Powderpuff Tournament, an all-form girls’ flag football competition on May 11. Each grade is given a team color every year, and the night begins with the seniors against the freshmen and the juniors against the sophomores. The winner of the two matches faces off for the opportunity to win the Powderpuff title. For larger events like Powderpuff, BoarPen’s extensive planning proves beneficial. “We sat down at the beginning of the term and outlined each event for each week. Then we send the forms out and someone does the graphics. It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work,” Castillo Núñez said.
From Deerfield Day to Senior Soccer scrimmages and from fall to spring, BoarPen works around the school year to deck our community out with gold and blue. As their last duties quickly approach, BoarPen wishes to end the year strong, encouraging Choate students to attend all of the upcoming games and sign up for P-Cup. Roll Boars!
