Dressed in blue, Pali students gathered on the Stadium by the Sea bleachers, cheering on their favorite teams as they paraded around the track. Students demonstrated school pride by wearing blue and white face paint and blue-beaded necklaces around their necks.
Pali’s Associated Student Body (ASB) along with Pali administrators organized the 2026 spring pep rally, commemorating Pali’s return to its original campus.
Pali dean Josh Wilson explained the importance of the pep rally in maintaining a positive school culture.
“Around 60% of our students are involved in sports on campus, and it’s something that the student body shares,” Wilson said. “It’s that feeling of pride in what you do. As well as seeing the amazing things your classmates can do.”
This semester’s pep rally vastly differed from the fall pep rally of 2025. Last year, students gathered on the black top at Pali South in support of performances from the dance and cheer teams. The limited space available at Sears prevented the fall teams from being able to participate as they traditionally do. To compensate for their lost experience, the spring pep rally included athletes from both Fall and Spring sports marching on the Pali track.
Freshman and JV cheerleader Cherish Burgess described the positive energy shift facilitated by the return to the original campus.
“Having everyone in the stands cheering made it feel more like an actual pep rally,” Burgess said. “This gave us more energy when we performed and we were actually excited to cheer.”
Senior and varsity swim team captain Elsa Burokas explained the importance of celebrating the accomplishments of numerous Pali athletes and teams.
“It’s great to be back and see people excited where we used to be,” Burokas said. “It just feels more like home for a lot of the athletes, and that’s very motivating for games and meets of all sorts.”
After planning Pali’s pep rallies for the last 10 years, ASB advisor Robert King corroborated Burokas’ statement, expressing joy for the highly anticipated return.
“It felt right to be back on our real campus instead of at Sears, celebrating our athletes’ resilience,” King said.
Not only was the Pep Rally a celebration of Pali’s athletic triumphs but also a fun welcome to the upcoming Prom.
Senior Sammy Dunn worked with ASB and Pali’s dance team, to coordinate a “promposal” to fellow senior Amelia Santos during the sports festivities.
Santos, a member of Pali’s dance team, was sitting on the sidelines when her entire team rushed out on the field in Dunn’s surprise performance. He displayed a dance routine they secretly rehearsed at lunch for weeks leading up to the rally.
Santos said, “It felt like something out of a movie, almost like a High School Musical and it was such a cute moment to watch.”
