What first appeared to be a knock-down, drag-em out brawl between two Penticton high school mascots was really all in good fun.
The pair, Princess Margaret’s large red, white and black mustang and the Penticton Secondary Lakers’ purple and gold dragon, got into a wrestling match during the senior girls game of the annual Cross City Challenge volleyball game Wednesday at Maggie.
As the packed gym watched the escalating battle between the pair, Princess Margaret principal Roger Wiebe and his Pen Hi counterpart, Chris Van Bergeyk, quickly moved in to break things up, eventually escorting the mascots out of the gym.
“They (mascots) both thought it was funny; ’We just thought we would horse around and put on a good show, what’s the big deal?,’” is how Wiebe described the pair’s reaction afterwards. “We said, ‘Well, it looked like you were fighting, that’s why.’ “You can’t see their faces so you can’t tell they’re joking around.
“Really it’s just become a lot of fun and a community event, barring some tom foolery between the mascots yesterday, it’s always been a kind of fun event and no hard feelings.”
What began a half dozen years ago as a spirit-raising event filling the high school gyms ever since then, has also become a way of helping the less fortunate.
Related: Video: Lakers tame Mustangs in cross-city volleyball match
Money from the admission fee and collection of non-perishable food items at the door go to the secondary schools’ 10,000 Tonight campaign.
This year the Lakers, a AAA team, won both the boys and girls matches over their AA rivals — the girls in two straight and the boys needed all three games.
“We lost the third boys game by 13-15, just by a sliver,” said Wiebe who is already looking ahead to next year’s event, which will be hosted by Pen High.
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