It's a typical Friday night for Nick Trileski and his Donner dorm buddies. They're texting, joking around, playing videogames. Tonight, though, an orientation counselor pokes her head in. She's hanging posters in the hall and tells them about the 2011 Tartan Olympics. The event is put on by the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and will be a lot of fun, she says. There's going to be a sack race, dodgeball, checkers, and more. And free pizza, she adds. The freshmen look at each other and decide to go for it. They start calling a few more friends.
The next day, the Bomb Squad is formed—consisting of Trileski (S'14), Vaughn Ridings (TPR'14), Alex Clement (E'14), Devin Schaefer (S'14), Joe Zuchelli (TPR'14), Dylan Mikus (CS'14), and their resident assistant, Paul Jasinto (S'12). When the team members enter Weigand Gym in street clothes, they quickly notice that some teams—including fraternities, sororities, and other student organizations—have matching, team-designed shirts. But before the Bomb Squad can dwell on its lack of preparation, music takes over the air, and the Tartan Olympics officially commence.
The first round of events are individual competitions, including trivia, checkers, scientific discovery, pizza eating, and karaoke. The team huddles to decide who is doing what, based on what everyone thinks they'd be best at, before they break away to compete. They return with a bunch of second and third places—and one first, in checkers. For the team dodgeball tournament, they don't embarrass themselves, either, placing third. Maybe they don't need matching shirts after all.
The last event is a chaotic team relay race. There's pandemonium as one team member solves a Rubik's Cube, another completes a word search, and the rest do push-ups, golf-putting, and an egg walk. For the last leg of the relay, teams sack-race across the hardwood floor; it ends in a climactic photo finish. The Bomb Squad finishes fourth in the relay and returns to Donner, awaiting the next day's award ceremonies.
Trileski and the team show up, even though they figure they won't place in the overall competition. When they hear "Bomb Squad" and "first place" over the speakers, they're so surprised that they sprint a victory lap around the gym. By placing in most events, they earned enough points to be the 2011 Tartan Olympic winners. First place includes a $500 donation to the charity of the team's choice, which Bomb Squad gives to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
—Kevin Trobaugh
