Cathedral’s Golden Paddle tournament brings together the school’s ping pong players for two weeks of matches, championships, serves, and madness. Starting with four different class tournaments and working down to the final two for an epic championship match on Friday during the Faith Fest assembly, the Golden Paddle is an elite table tennis tournament.
The Golden Paddle tournament is run by Social Studies Teacher and Director of Student Activities, Mr. Anthony Ernst. Mr. Ernst sets up the brackets and schedules for the tournament and is the announcer of the championship round.
The Golden Paddle has become one of Mr. Ernst favorite traditions at Cathedral. “It’s an annual tournament to compete in table tennis, and it is a rich tradition that has been at Cathedral for around 15 years,” he said.
The competition in the tournament is fierce and each competitor feels it. As the tournament goes down from it’s opening rounds to the championship round, the tension in each match rises and rises. Class of 2026 member Braden Mann, who made his way to the championship, said, “The matches throughout the tournament are exciting and you definitely start to feel the nerves when you get down to the end of the tournament.”
The matches this year have been great and have been incredibly close. Mr. Ernst has especially noticed and said, “There’s been some great matches this tournament especially in the junior and senior brackets which were heavy in competition.”
This year’s final four was equally competitive as the rest of the bracket with two intense matches taking place on Wednesday. Junior Braden Mann and Sophomore Evan Meier squared off for a spot in the finals. Both Mann and Meier have won their class bracket every year since their freshmen debut. Mann defeated Evan Meier after Meier jumped out to an early 6-1 lead threatening to wipe out Mann early.
Senior Nick Whitley and Freshman Luke Langfeldt battled in the other semifinal to advance to the championship round. Whitley advanced to the final after a close game throughout with the freshman. Setting up a final matchup between Nick Whitley and Braden Mann.
The final to start the assembly should be one to remember where one will be joining the club of Golden Paddle winners and Cathedral ping pong lore. After the match, either Braden Mann or Nick Whitley will be champion.
Ernst is beginning to gear up for the championship match which he loves. “The finals at the Faith Fest is the best. They turn the lights off and the one light gets lowered over the table. The kids get super into it and we have introductions. It’s a spectacle.”
