Crossroads News
Roadrunners Claim This Year’s Extravaganza Cup
Crossroads’ Upper School soccer and basketball teams defeated Brentwood during the annual athletics event.
Sports Extravaganza, a beloved Crossroads tradition and the School’s biggest athletics event of the year, brought together the School community on Friday, Jan. 9 for a vibrant night of friendly rivalry and unwavering spirit as the Roadrunners took on the Brentwood Eagles in both basketball and soccer, with the coveted Extravaganza Cup up for grabs.
The winner of the Cup is determined by a points system—two points for a varsity win and one point for a junior varsity victory. The school with the most points at the end of the night is awarded the Cup. In the event of a tie, the Cup stays with the most recent winner.
In a speech before the start of the boys varsity basketball game, Head of School Mariama Richards took a moment to pay tribute to the resilience of both the Brentwood and Crossroads communities, which were affected by the Palisades Fire just one year ago. As a result of the wildfires, last year’s Extravaganza was canceled.
“This event is more than a rivalry. It is a tradition rooted in connection, school spirit and pride in our students,” said Mariama. “We are grateful to host Brentwood, and we are proud to welcome everyone back to campus for a night that brings our communities together. Thank you for being here, and thank you for supporting our student-athletes.”
As reigning 2023-24 Extravaganza champions, Crossroads student-athletes stepped onto the court and field ready to defend the title. The atmosphere was electric: Cheers echoed through the stands, teammates huddled with laser focus and families and friends packed the bleachers.
Boys junior varsity soccer kicked things off but, despite a solid effort, the team trailed 2-1 at the end of the game. Meanwhile in the gym, the boys junior varsity basketball team took home the first win of the night in a close 65-63 matchup. Brentwood tallied two wins in the next set of games—girls varsity soccer and girls varsity basketball. There were strong performances by the boys varsity basketball and soccer teams, which won 75-46 and 8-0, respectively. Having won 4 of 6 matchups, the Roadrunners secured enough points to keep the Extravaganza Cup for another year.
As the Roadrunners hoisted the Cup, fans flooded the soccer field in celebration, a demonstration of what this event is truly all about: joy, resilience and community pride.
