The brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha hold an annual event, Pike Fights, to raise money for their philanthropy, the Weakley County Reading Railroad.
This year was the 25th annual event. The fights consist of three rounds of one minute fights, and then the judges pick a winner. The event was held in the Skyhawk field house on April 4. All the proceeds from the event went to Weakley County Reading Railroad.
The Weakley County Reading Railroad is a non-profit organization that provides free books to children from birth to age five.
“The Reading Railroad is a partnership of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Governor’s Books from Birth. The Imagination Library founded by Dolly Partin was formed in Sevier County, TN and now reaches throughout the world,” according to the Weakley County Reading Railroad’s Facebook page.
Seven fraternities participated in this event: Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Gamma Rho, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Order and Phi Sigma Kappa. The first fight was between Ahmad Robinson and Brady Dancer, with a third round knock out going to Dancer. Fight two was between Cody Hogan and Quintin Marable, with Marable winning in a unanimous decision. The third fight was a split decision win between Chris Collins and Andre Rivers; Rivers won this round. Fight four was between Grant Taylor and Andrew Harman, Harman won with a unanimous decision. Trey Kelly and Jacob Barnes were the fifth fight with Kelly winning in a split decision.
The sixth fight was between William Wiedemann and Kyle Griffy, with Wiedemann winning in a unanimous decision. Devin Cranford and Garrison Barnes fought the seventh fight, with Barnes winning in a split decision. Fight eight was between Lane Hardin and John Domanski, with Hardin winning in a split decision. The ninth fight was between Walker Barnes and Christian Cousar, with Cousar winning in a unanimous decision. Fight 10 was between Dakota Adams and Rob Berner, with Berner winning in a unanimous decision. Fight 11 was the last and main event of the night. It was between R.J. Brown and Jackson Yeager, with Yeager winning in a second round knock out.
“I love Pike Fights. It’s a fun and interactive way for other fraternities to help Pi Kappa Alpha raise money for such a good cause. It’s college friendly while still benefitting our community. My favorite part about Pike Fights are of coursed the fights themselves. They always have really good matches that keep the crowd cheering on their favorite opponent,” said Senior Education major Kristen Riley.
