St. Joe’s co-rec and men’s intramural basketball teams brought home the championship title at the March 16 City 6 Tournament.
A bright mark on the legacy of St. Joe’s intramurals, the teams made core memories together as they fought their way to the top, Adam Morrison ’25, who is on the co-rec team, said.
“We’re a bunch of friends, so it’s fun. We’re playing with our friends. And, obviously, some of the kids on the team were new, but everyone got along, and we just enjoyed playing and having fun,” Morrison said. “[It’s] something for us to do while we’re at college to have fun, just a good core memory for us.”
The driving force behind this feat was the power of fun and friendship, said Johnny Perkins ’26, who is on the men’s team.
“We just put this team together this year,” Perkins said. “I didn’t know any of the guys prior to playing this season. So me and one of my other friends had contacted everyone, and we all just went to the gym and played together. And then we ended up forming a team. I just wanted to see where it went, and we were able to go pretty far with it.”
Having fun was a major theme for intramural competitions. Morrison made sure to emphasize that friendly competition is the name of the game for intramurals, but that does not take away from the serious edge of the tournament, and the range of teams varies.
“You get a team that’s not the greatest but they have fun,” Morrison said. “And you get teams that are really good, and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, these kids are playing intramural, and they’re just good.”
The men’s team finished the intramural season with nine wins and zero losses. Teamwork was essential for their win. Perkins reminisced about his experiences last year and how a change in the team chemistry helped them grab the championship.
“I played on a team last year, and it was more like one or two people that would score the entire time. But seeing all [of] these guys be so unselfish and seeing it come together really shows the game of basketball,” Perkins said.
The co-rec team brought the City 6 championship home after a 12-year drought, while the men’s team won for the first time in 36 years. Both doing so was an accomplishment that far exceeds the typical perception of intramural sports.
“I think that’s an awesome accomplishment to have, because, then, at the end of the day, it’s like you left your mark at St. Joe’s in a small way,” Christina DiMaggio ’25, of the co-rec team, said. “But it’s still awesome to have that feeling. So that would be my biggest takeaway, and, obviously, it makes it 10 times better because I did it with my friends.”
