A Look at OES' March Madness Bracket Masters
April 4, 2019 April 4, 2019 norgaardcLeave a comment
By Wylly Willmott
Despite the fact that our calendars read April, there is still one part of March we haven't quite left behind: March Madness, a phrase almost synonymous with filling out bracket predictions.
2019's NCAA basketball tournament finally provided hope for those of us chasing the elusive perfect bracket. Spotless for a record breaking 49 games, forty-year-old Gregg Nigl attained his first loss only after Tennessee fell to Purdue in overtime of the second sweet sixteen match. While Nigl garnered national media coverage for the success of his bracket, I headed out to the Great Hall with hopes of figuring out who has the best bracket in our OES community.
I first questioned sophomore Seamus O'Holleran who (only after I explained to him that "I" was not a valid answer) volunteered Maya Milne '21 because of her "really good knowledge of basketball."
Next I found my way over to a group of juniors; Rachel Holzman, Harper Hummelt, and Ethan Dinh. When asked who they think has the best bracket at OES, Rachel immediately responded with Colin Bock. Her reasoning being that he is a "bball whiz." Her statement was met with several nods from the group. Rachel also offered up Max Holzman, who while not an upper schooler yet, takes after his older brother Ian on the basketball court and is currently winning his online bracket group.
Harper's answer was Luke Morissette, who she witnessed fervently discussing brackets on their winterim backpacking trip to Utah. That enthusiasm definitely demonstrates a love of March Madness, but doesn't speak to the strength of his bracket, which Harper could not attest to. Ethan on the other hand vouched for Jason Lim's bracket, which allegedly went quite far.
In passing I spoke with senior Rachel Lowell, who is also confident that Colin's bracket is superior, because as she put it "who doesn't have faith in Colin Bock?"
Kennedy Balandi '20 also wanted to get a word in on the matter, confidently stating that Ronit Mehta, the only freshman to make this list, has the best bracket in the school. Well, to be more specific, he had "a good bracket"……… "before the tournament started."
While there is no definitive ranking, it looks like the general consensus is that Colin Bock has the best March Madness Bracket at OES. Only one disgruntled cross country/soccer/lacrosse/track star had anything to say about it, making a bold claim that "Stephanie Finley has a better bracket than Colin Bock."
Prizes for winning brackets range from bragging rights to thousands of dollars, but I hope the satisfaction of being named in The Dig is enough for these Bracket Masters.
Wylly W.
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