Pepper Pike, OH--Student-athletes from across the athletic department gathered Wednesday evening in the Stano Athletic Center for the third annual Kickoff. 

The Kickoff has become a tradition at Ursuline, providing an opportunity for student-athletes from different teams to come together, build connections, and celebrate the start of another year of competition. 

The Kickoff starts with the Student-Athlete Blessing, lead by Sister Nicole Varnerin, SND, director of Campus Ministry and Mission. Sister Varnerin opened the evening by offering encouragement and a blessing to the 160 student-athletes in attendance. 

The evening then shifted into competition, with a series of games and challenges designed to bring student-athletes together across teams. 

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representatives led 20 groups through a variety of challenges, including a paper airplane battle, rock-paper-scissors war and scavenger hunt. 

The night came down to a close finish between Team 4 and Team 9, which found themselves deadlocked heading into the final challenge. The head-to-head paper airplane battle also ended in a tie, forcing a tiebreaker round of ball/cone grab. 

Team 9 ultimately came away with the victory. The winning group featured student-athletes from flag football, lacrosse, men's golf, soccer, softball and stunt. 

"Beyond classes, studying and their team obligations, it's a rare opportunity when all teams can come together at the same time," said Kelly Russell, Co-Adviser for SAAC and Assistant Athletic Director for Operations and Engagement. "Our student-athletes never cease to amaze me when it comes to picking up a challenge and having fun, working together to figure it out." 

The annual Kickoff once again gave the Arrows an opportunity to start the year not only as individual teams, but as one athletic community.