Students from different organizations participated in the annual Kicking for Cash contest, sponsored by Craig Smyser, on Friday. The students kicked a field goal during halftime in hopes that they would kick the football the farthest.

“I thought it was pretty cool how everyone got to compete,” senior Jake Lum said. “Everyone got a chance.”

Lum kicked for tennis and won the grand prize of $300 and Madi’s Munchies cookies for the team.

“I used to kick field goals in middle school in Chicago,” Lum said. “It was pretty fun. I always thought I was good at it so when I heard there was an opportunity to raise money for the tennis team I thought it’d be a cool idea.”

Tennis plans to use the money to put a shade over their courts and steps between them. The team has been practicing out in the heat.

“It definitely kind of lowers moral,” Lum said. “The only shade would be all the way off the courts.”

Senior Connor Roth kicked for C2 and placed second.

“It was really nerve-wracking because they put you up on the jumbotron,” Roth said. “I was right behind the goal post. When you’re kicking it really messes with your head.”

Coaches and teammates nominate a representative for their organization. Each student starts from the same distance during the event, but those who advance move back to kick until a winner is chosen.

“I like the concept of the competitiveness,” Roth said. “How the winner gets to put that money toward their sport or organization.”

Newspaper had a kicker in Kicking for Cash for the first time on Friday. Senior Miguel Blanco represented the staff.

“It was awesome representing newspaper that hasn’t been able to take part in this,” Blanco said. “There were a lot of organizations that were new to Kicking for Cash. There were 17 to start out. It shows that there were a lot of people that wanted to raise money for something they care about.”

Everyone was in good spirits at Kicking for Cash. Blanco said he was happy just to have the opportunity to participate in the event.

“It was actually really fun being out on the field,” Blanco said. “I’ve played out on the field before for soccer. The crowd on Friday was new because there were actually people cheering. It was really fun having all those spectacles for an event and being a part of it.”