Stanton set for another year of Mayhem
STANTON — It might officially be spring on the calendars. However, it doesn’t feel like spring until March Mayhem, the annual Stanton High School tradition, arrives.
It all began 12 years ago and continues this weekend with no shortage of activities.
March Mayhem is one of the more popular times as many students from around southwest Iowa participate in various basketball events, as well as a dodgeball tournament.
In recent years, participants who have gone off to college have brought friends with them to March Mayhem, as they take part in the fun and festivities.
“It’s kind of fun to see who shows up,” Jeff Grebin, organizer for March Mayhem, said.
The main feature, as always, will be the dodgeball tournament, scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. start on Saturday.
The dodgeball tournament has been part of March Mayhem for about a decade.
Registration forms need to be submitted by Friday at 3:30 p.m. The entry fee for the tournament is $25.
Dodgeball teams can register by mail or drop off a form. The form can be downloaded at stantonschools.com/events/march-mayhem/. It can be mailed to March Mayhem, c/o Jeff Grebin, 605 Elliott St., Stanton, IA 51573.
There is also an online registration form at stantonschools.com/events/march-mayhem/registration/dodgeball.
As always, there is more to March Mayhem than the dodgeball tournament.
For the first time, the festivities will kick off Friday night with a 5K GLOW Run/Walk that starts at 9 p.m. In recent years, the 5K took place Saturday morning of the event.
They’ve done a 5K for the last couple of years, but this year they wanted to try something new.
“Other towns have done it so we thought we’d change the format a little bit and then we can take care of that Friday night,” Grebin said. “It’s one less thing we have to work with Saturday morning.”
Registration for the event will take place at 8 p.m. Friday in the Stanton High School gymnasium. There is an online link for the 5K run/walk at stantonschools.com/events/march-mayhem/registration/5k-run-walk. The entry fee for the event is $20.
March Mayhem will continue Saturday morning around 8 a.m. with the 3-on-3 basketball tournament. Once again, it will be a round robin tournament that will take up most of the morning and part of the afternoon.
A single elimination tournament will take place later in the afternoon before the dodgeball tournament.
The entry fee is $20.
There are multiple divisions for junior high and high school students as well as adults, a recently added division will be included for men age 35 and older.
Teams have until Wednesday to register.
The festivities continue early in the afternoon around 1:30 p.m. when the 3-point shooting contest and the slam dunk contest take place.
Registration for both events will take place on Saturday leading up to the contests.
The entry fee for both events is $1. The contests will take place as organizers finish with the seeding for the 3-on-3 single elimination basketball tournament.
Grebin and his students have been toying with the idea of adding more events to the day. Ideas including a sumo-wrestling tournament and a bean bag tournament are also possible for the weekend.
With the Viking Center open next door, more 3-on-3 games can get done more quickly and would allow more events to take place.
“We’ll get more games in and the [3-on-3] tournament will go faster,” Grebin said. “So maybe we can fill a two-hour gap with a bean bag tournament or something like that. That of course would open doors for all ages.”
Having access to the Viking Center will especially be helpful during the 3-on-3 tournaments, allowing more round robin games to be completed in a shorter period of time. The dodgeball tournament will take place in its usual space in the high school gymnasium.
“It’s an atmosphere for sure when everyone is in one gym,” Grebin said. “It’s going to create some personnel issues, we’ve got to have someone manning the door at both facilities.”
For more information on March Mayhem, go to stantonschools.com/events/march-mayhem/events.