Homecoming’s Pushcart Competition Pushes Rowan Pride

There were no engines or motors needed for this race—just two sets of hands and feet, and a whole lot of stamina. With Rowan University’s Homecoming Week kicking off, the yearly Pushcart Competition rolled out with clubs, fraternities, sororities, and other organizations’ members all joining their respective groups. The winner was determined by who was fastest out of two rounds.

The event, held at Bunce Circle on Oct. 14 at 4 p.m., saw a flurry of people there to support their clubs and cheer on their friends. Guests and participants alike signed in at the front table and were welcomed with free T-shirts, pretzels, and drinks. Even with the cloudy and misty weather, a large crowd accumulated outside Bunce Hall.

To enter the competition, participants were required to sign up in advance and have teams of four, which some clubs seemed to be struggling with at the start. 

Hedi Benayed, a 19-year-old finance major and member of the fencing team, was unable to find a fourth member and was disqualified from participating. Despite this, he and his team still stayed to cheer on the other groups.

“I think it’s a great event to meet new people and get to know your teammates better,” Benayed said. “I highly encourage it, and I believe it’s very important for a campus to have these kinds of events.”

The teams that ended up racing were Rowan Badminton, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Rowan Bowling, Women’s Ultimate Frisbee, Men’s Ultimate Frisbee, Student Centers and Campus Activities (SCCA), Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Delta Tau, and Club Field Hockey.

The race began with Rowan Badminton up against NSBE. Both teams were split into teams of two, with one person pushing and the other steering the Rowan-pride-colored pushcarts. Participants donned bike helmets and gripped the back of the carts, waiting to begin their sprint. As soon as the word go was muttered, Rowan Badminton gained the lead and kept it until the halfway point. At this part of the race, the two teams had to quickly switch drivers and pushers before continuing to the finish line. In the end, Rowan Badminton won their first round but were beaten by NSBE in the second.

Next was Club Field Hockey and Rowan Bowling, with Club Field Hockey winning their first round and Rowan Bowling beating them in the final round. Women’s Ultimate Frisbee and Student Centers and Campus Activities followed, the latter winning both of their rounds. Similarly, Men’s Ultimate Frisbee won twice against Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Delta Tau.

Nicholas Marinelli, a 21-year-old sports communication and media student in his junior year, participated in the race in support of Rowan Bowling.

“Just a fun experience, doing it. It seems like a pretty good event,” Marinelli said. “This is my first time doing it, so it’d be pretty good to be a part of it…I’m just here to have fun.”

Alia Elbanna, the coordinator of events and technology support at the SCCA, was one of the event heads along with Ashley Sheen. This was their third year hosting this event, and they implemented what they had learned from the previous years. 

“We weren’t sure if that many people were going to be able to come out, but I think that it’s a really great turnout for a nice fall day that could have been rainy, but luckily we got some people out here,” said Elbanna. 

As of now, the winning team has not been announced and will be revealed later on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Rowan Homecoming football game during halftime.