Basketball Blowout

The halfway point of the semester has just passed and it’s not difficult to tell. Take a quick look around campus and it’s easy to spot the many weary and stressed out Sac State students, those young adults who look more like battle casualties than astute academic individuals.

While the semester has progressed many students have been piling up on the midterms and stress while depriving themselves of both sleep and fun. But on Nov. 2, the Sac State Recreational Sports Department hoped to offer a little relief with its first semester Basketball Blowout.

"We do these in the middle of each semester as a way for student to have fun and get together," recreational sports director Laura Hall said. "We figured we had 150 students participating, which exceeded even our expectations."

With loud music thumping, students and faculty took part in a multitude of events including a slam dunk contest, three point shootout, free throw contest, and one-on-one tournament.

The overwhelming favorite fan event was the slam dunk contest, won by sophomore Dramont Wright with his high flying 360 degree slam.

"That dunk was just phenomenal," Hall said.

"I just came out to have fun," Wright added. "It’s just a great opportunity for students to get together and show what they can do on the court."

While not all students had the ability to participate in the slam dunk contest, many tested their skills in the other events. For the men, Hung Nguyen won both the free throw and three point contests hitting all 10 of his free throws and seven of 10 three pointers. Ian Markham won the under 5-foot-10 one-on-one contest and Steve Del Campio outdistanced the competition in the over 5-foot-10 one-on-one contest.

Women’s soccer coach Sandra Asimos came away with a sweep of the women’s events, hitting nine of 10 free throws, four of 10 three pointers, and taking the one-on-one contest.

Although winners were crowned, all participants came away with a personal victory over stress and a free T-shirt.

"It was a great basketball event," Markham said. "I am looking forward to the spring Basketball Blowout."

Aside from intramural sports, the Recreational Sports Department hosts many sporting events, such as the Basketball Blowout. Their goal is to create a campus that is more than just an academic institution with textbooks, labs, and homework.

"We want these events to be a way to have fun and bring the campus together," Recreational Sports graduate assistant Dave Patterson said.

Next up for the department is the annual Turkey Trot Fun Run on Nov. 19. Any student can participate in the run, a two-mile trek through campus. There will be men’s and women’s events. An entry fee of two canned food items will be donated to the Sacramento Loaves and Fishes program.

For more information on the Turkey Trot Fun Run or intramural sports you can visit the Recreational Sports Office, located on the first floor of the University Union, or call (916) 278-6321.