Walking into the main gym on Feb. 28, students were greeted by the pep band playing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” The pep session begin with mass media teacher Jon Colby and band teacher Dathan Echols welcoming the students to the final pep session of the year.

English teacher and head basketball cheer coach, Hedy McGrath then told Katelyn Shadoan’s story and battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, followed by the cheerleaders leading the faculty and students in a “Riley” chant.

For entertainment, Brandon Sarver and Eric Gangwer of the Indiana Pacers Power Pack performed. The Power Pack is made up of three dunkers that do flips and dunks off of a trampoline during Pacers games, alongside Pacers mascot Boomer.

“My favorite part were the Pacer dunkers,” senior Ashley Kates said. “It’s really neat seeing some of the flips, tricks and dunks that they can pull off.”

After counting which teacher’s jar raised the most money for Riley, it came down to English teacher Ben Beasley, social studies teacher Matthew Stahl and Principal Jason Urban. Followed by a drumroll, it was revealed that Beasley’s jar raised the most money and, therefore, Beasley got a pie in the face by senior Devin Chaudion who, earlier in the pep session beat junior Brooke Sugg six to five in a three-point contest. Colby then revealed that Urban and Stahl were ‘lucky’ because they made two extra pies just for them, and they both received a pie to the face as well.

After cleaning himself up, Urban closed the pep session out by encouraging the students to come out to the Riley Dance Marathon on Feb. 29. As the students left the gym, the pep band played the school song and War’s “Low Rider.”

 “It was overall pretty entertaining,” Kates said. “It beats being in class anyday.”

Photo essay of the Riley Dance Marathon.