2023-24: Honoring the History of Las Vegas

Mr. Bracken's 7th year of teaching was also the 30th anniversary school year for Las Vegas High School's Sahara Avenue location. To commemorate the anniversary as well as to incorporate elements of the city of Las Vegas, all class logos and team names were inspired by hotels, either current or past, of Las Vegas. The only notable exception is that of Student Council whose logo is inspired by the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. 

Below are images of each team's logo, including periods that were not used due to Student Council periods or to planning period time. 

Period 7 "The Strat" won the 2023-2024 French Class League and subsequently earned a 1st-round bye in the 2024 Goeller Cup Playoffs. Their record of 9-4-2 (20 points) set the bar for this format of competition. This is the first time that Period 7 has finished in the top spot of the season. This is the second time in history that Period 7 earned a first-round bye; the other being a 2nd-place finish in 2019 at Millbrook High School.

Tied in points but with one less victory in an 8-2-4 record was Period 2 "Flamingo" who also earned a first-round bye in this 6-class format. This is the second consecutive year that Period 2 earned a bye, having placed first in last year's competition. Period 2 is the defending Goeller Cup Champion, though it's worth noting that all of the winning students from that class were members of Period 7 and Period 4 this year.

 Each round of the 2024 Goeller Cup Playoffs lasted 5 class days, spanning over roughly two weeks, thanks to LVHS's block schedule. The first round started on Wednesday, March 20. The semi-final round started on Friday, April 5. After a one-class day break for championship prep day, the 2024 Goeller Cup Finals started on Monday, April 22, and concluded on Friday, May 3, 2024. The 2024 champions party was held on May 8.

ROUND 1

The first round of the 2024 Goeller Cup Playoffs started on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Period 3 Caesars Palace was the only class competing on A-Days in the first round.

(#3) Period 3 Caesars Palace vs. (#6) Period 4 Fitzgerald

This is the second all-time meeting between Periods 3 and 4, the first meeting being in 2019's first-round series at Millbrook High School. Period 3 won 3-2. The winner of this match-up advances to the final four to meet the second-ranked Period 2, Flamingo. 

Caesars Palace jumped out to an early lead in the playoffs, leading all 5 categories after their first class day. Fitzgerald managed to bring things even again after their first day, taking over two of the three categories. After two days each, Caesars still led the series 3-2, holding leads in points (57-48), points per student (1.58-1.30) and positive percentage (89% vs. 84%). Fitzgeralds lead in French percentage (44% vs. 11%) and highest student (10-8).

 Caesars held a 3-2 or 4-1 lead over their opponent Fitzgerald since the competition started through the first three days. Fitzgerald managed to turn the tides and took a 4-1 lead into the final day of competition. It was the first time that they led in the series and it put them in great shape to advance to the semi-final round. Caesars found themselves trailing on the outside, looking in with just one day left in round 1 of competition. Entering the final day, Fitzgerald led total points by 21 points (130-109), average points per student (3.51-3.02), positive point percentage (88%-87%), and French percentage (44%-39%). Caesars Palace maintained a lead in the highest student by two points (14-12).

On their last day of round 1, Caesars managed to retake the lead in every points category and padded their lead in highest student. They had a net gain of 59 points to take them from 21 points down to 38 points ahead. They led average points per student by 1.16 points and positive point percentage by 0.92. Their French percentage score jumped to 49.47%, which would be a record-setting score in this category unless surpassed by Fitzgerald. In highest student they opened up a 10-point lead of 22-12. 

A day later, Fitzgerald was unable to complete their comeback and their underdog storyline. They certainly earned enough points to pass Caesars but unfortunately also had several negative points that brought their net total down. With a one-student difference in roster size, the advantage went to Caesars in average points per student, which ended up being the deciding category for this match-up. 

Caesars Palace defeated Fitzgerald in average points per student (4.67-4.57), positivity (89%-87%), and highest student (22-16). Fitzgerald managed to snag wins in overall points (169-168) and set a new record for French-speaking percentage at 51.81% (vs. 49.47%). Both classes had record-setting numbers in this category but this is the first time that more than 50% of a class's points were for speaking French. It's a true testament to Fitzgerald's dedication to wanting to win. Unfortunately, they came up just shy, needing only four more points to have won the average point per student category. This record would be broken in the following round. 

Caesars Palace advanced to the semi-final round against Flamingo, setting up a rematch of last year's finals (period 2 vs. period 3).

(#4) Period 5-6 Student Council vs. (#5) Period 8 Sahara

This is the first-ever meeting between Periods 6 and 8. Since Student Council has two class periods, only the period versus their opponent will be the scored day. So since their first-round opponent is a B-day class, their scoring will come from their B-day class. The winner of this series advances to the final four against top-ranked Period 7, The Strat. 

Through the first two days of competition, Sahara managed to maintain a 4-1 series lead, trailing only in the positive point percentage category. Through two full days, Period 8 Sahara had earned more points than any class competing (65) but also had the most lost points (10), as well. They lead 55-50 in total points, 1.57-1.38 in average points, 10%-0% in French percentage, and 11-3 in highest student. 

Student Council continued to trail 4-1, failing to make up any significant ground on Sahara. They entered the final day of competition only trailing by 9 points total (118-109), average point per student (3.37-3.03), and Sahara maintained a substantial lead in the highest student category, leading 23-6. In their special percentage category, Sahara led 30.1%-09.2%. StuCo only managed to keep a lead in positive point percentage, where they maintained a 100% streak through 4 days.

StuCo made a last-minute charge on the final day, clawing back from a 4-1 deficit to a 3-2 series, with the balance of the series hanging on the average point per student. A new student was added to the roster for Sahara on the final day, but this student was not included in the scoring data for this round (they will count for any subsequent rounds). 

Sahara advanced to the semi-final round by defeating StuCo in a 3-2 score. Sahara won average point per student (4.34-4.25), French-speaking percentage (25%-10%), and highest student (30-8). StuCo earned more points on the final day, ending just ahead in overall points (153-152), and also won positivity (100%-85%), having lost no points at all. StuCo's 8 points for their highest student is a record-setting low number, but it is worth noting that their point values were not earned in the same way as previous classes in the history of this competition. 

Sahara advanced to the semi-final round against the top-ranked Strat in an "end-of-the-day" showdown Period 7 vs. Period 8 match-up.

The 2024 Goeller Cup Final was the second Period 2 vs. Period 7 playoffs matchup. The two classes met in the inaugural tournament (where Period 7 was called Bloc 4), in which Period 7 won 3-2. Additionally, the 2024 Finals were only the second time that Period 3 did not advance to the Goeller Cup Finals (the other time being 2019). 2024 was the 5th time in 5 competitions that the number-one ranked class advanced to the final round. 

The Strat (Period 7) opened the Goeller Cup Finals on April 23 and after one cycle of class days held a 3-2 lead. They earned an impressive 125 points on their first class day, while Flamingo (Period 2) underperformed their adversaries, only managing to earn 89 points. The top-earning student however earned 18 points on their first day, putting them more than two times ahead of Period 7 in this category. 

The Strat had another impressive class on their second day of the competition, again earning over 100 points to extend their series lead, still 3-2. They continued to trail in the highest-earning student category and were also closely behind in French-speaking points, but elsewhere on the scoreboard they were in dominant control through two days. 

Mr. Bracken was out sick on Period 2's second class day and Period 7's third class day. The classes received good reports from the sub and therefore did not lose any points from this day cycle. Flamingo managed to tighten the series on their third class day, even though they gave up their lead in the French-speaking category and found themselves down 4-1. Overall, the gap between the two classes was close in average points per student, and positive percentage, meaning that Period 2 could still easily turn the tides in their favor. 

After four classes, the Strat continued to lead 4-1, never having trailed in the series to this point, but only earning up to 269 points through four days. Their 100-point class pace slowed down, allowing Flamingo to keep them within striking distance. After four days, both classes had combined for 7 negative points, meaning that the positive point percentage category was extremely close. Entering the final class cycle, it became clear that the series would likely come down to average points per student and positive points percentage to decide the championship. 

On their final class days, the Strat increased their lead in every category, maintaining a 4-1 series lead after finishing their final class day of competition. Flamingo would need a big final class day to come back and defeat Period 7. They needed to maximize points to surpass the Strat in two categories since they led in highest student entering their last day. They needed to earn 104 points in their final class period. Doing so would have given them an advantage in positive point percentage and average points per student. Those two categories plus their highest-earning student category would have given them the victory. Unfortunately, Period 2 fell just shy of the required mark, earning 97 points on their final day. This was enough for them to edge out Period 7 in positive points percentage, but they were unable to capture a third category. When the bell rang at 8:20 AM, Period 7 became the 2024 Goeller Cup Champions. It's the first time that Period 7 has won the Goeller Cup. Additionally, seven students became the first-ever two-time Goeller Cup Champions and they received a commemorative two-time champions sticker as a part of their class party.

PÉRIODE 7 • FRANÇAIS II • “THE STRAT”

FIRST-TIME CHAMPIONS

Luis A-A • Kurt A • Yusimi C • Brenda C • Jaekob C • Hadassah "Hayde" F • Blu G • Balente G• Garrett G • Jaden H • Ivan H.D. • Ulysses J P • Julian J • Lex M • Silo • Daniel P • Julian R • Kylin R • Giselle R • Alex S • Josh S • Melanie T • Janet T • Sabrii V • Xavi V • Leonardo V • Ïmara W • Tejon W • Da'Niyah Y