The freshman class gave a whole new meaning to youth in revolt during Thursday’s Battle of the Classes, dominating the sophomores, juniors and seniors by mass alone.

The campus-wide event hosted 18 athletic events, including volleyball, rugby, soccer and badminton, and ended with a BBQ picnic at Roble field. The grand finale was an all-class Tug-Of-War which bore a startling resemblance to the last seven minutes of the movie 300 and the first seven seconds of a wet t-shirt contest: spring break edition.

Eric Stein, senior associate athletic director, was one of the head creative minds behind the extended field day.

“We were trying to get an idea that would appeal to and involve as many different Stanford students as possible,” he said. “What we really wanted was to create class pride, for students to show up and create a bit of fun and craziness in the name of their class.”

Assisting Stein were the campus recreation staff and class officers, who had been involved in the event’s conception since the second week of fall quarter.

“[We wanted] to bring together the undergraduate population here at Stanford,” said Walter Foxworth ’10, one of the senior class presidents. “[There are] so many amazing talents in the student body, but we have never fully exploited that to see what it amounts to.”

From 4 to 6:30 p.m., students displayed impressive feats of athleticism. Elliot Damashek ‘11, for example, scored 14 out of the 17 points for his team in a heated game of Cornhole.

“It was great,” Damaskek said. “I had a really good time playing against other juniors, and the game harkened back to my Midwestern roots.”

And while some students were reminiscing about the “good ol’ days,” others enjoyed the more physical options.

“The kickball game was intense,” said Johnny Villarreal ’12.  “It’s not called Battle of the Classes for nothing. “

Jose Vietez ‘11 agreed.

“You do it for the glory,” he said, while showing off his battle wound.  “And girls dig scars.”

However, the clear crowd pleaser was the tug-of-war game, which took place at the end of the BBQ. After announcing the rankings–the Junior class went wild upon hearing that they were solidly in last place–Stein began the main tug-of-war games, which were officiated by the Palo Alto Fire Department’s hose and a large standing assembly, which included Dean Julie Lythcott-Haims ’89.

“The freshmen are outnumbering everyone,” she said, “But I wouldn’t count any class out ‘till they’re out.”

However, in keeping with the day’s tradition, Class of 2013 dominated, taking every other class down to the metaphorical mat.

“It was unsatisfyingly easy,” said George Michopoulos ‘13 of the freshmen’s decisive victory over the sophomores. “Like taking candy from a child.”

But perhaps the sweetest pseudo victory of the day occurred during the coed junior vs. senior match-up, when the head of the junior side, Max Hawes, organized a sudden drop of the rope, sending the seniors sprawling in the opposite direction.

The end of Battle of the Classes saw the freshmen win the Golden Chalice, which will soon be engraved with their class year and placed in Old Union for the rest of the student body to marvel at until the day it will inevitably be stolen. While freshmen credited their victory to their youth, flexibility and overall muscle mass, the juniors attributed their stylish loss to “dedication for their studies.”

Regardless of the score, Battle of the Classes was a wonderful break from midterms, a great way to spend a Thursday afternoon and what the athletic department hopes to be a tradition in the making.