The Bear Essentials

'A bird in the hand is worth...bragging rights'

Ursuline is first girls' school to participate in Kiss 108 Turkey Toss

Throwing a bird in the oven may be the conventional start to Thanksgiving, but launching a frozen gobbler across Medford's Meadow Glen Mall parking lot rang in the holiday just fine for the hundreds of local high school students who showed up for Kiss 108's Annual Turkey Toss on November 24.

As the sun rose, so did the frozen turkey. Though the 'tossers' and 'receivers' are required to be members of their school's football team, the 'Matty In the Morning' crew decided to open this year's competition to welcome their first ever female competitors from Ursuline Academy. As strong athletes and member's of UA's unofficial Powder Puff Football Team, seniors Jill Lawler and Cassandra Sadd knew they had the skills to compete with the ten other boy's teams in attendance. "We practiced with a 12 pound turkey," said Cassandra.

The preparation was half the battle, according to Jill Lawler, who admitted that the toss would be her first chance to 'shot put' a turkey. Though students listened each morning as host Matt Siegel shared his doubts about the team's potential to beat the strong competition, the girls were determined to make their mark in Medford. "It will only make them try harder," said Student Council rep Nicaela Chinnaswamy, who took the bold first step of getting her school into the competition.

"[She's] about to make history here," said Boston sports anchor Mike Lynch, as he introduced Jill just before the throw. A few feet away stood 'catcher' Cassandra, ready to snatch the 22 pound bird from mid-air. On the sidelines, a man dressed as a turkey stood in quiet anticipation. On the radio, we heard Kiss 108's Lisa yelling "Let's go girls," as the crowd roared. And then...the throw!

"Long story short...they beat the Marines," said Ursuline's Principal Mary Jo Keaney, who watched the girls complete a flawless pass to nab 4th place. "The Mighty Bears," as they were called by host Billy Costa, may not have won, but they certainly gobbled up a good chunk of the competition, which included football quarterbacks and military men.

The girls, who will never look at Thanksgiving dinner the same way again, plan to pass their techniques along to Ursuline's next team of talented turkey tossers.

Click here to see the recap video! [Fast forward to 19:00 for Ursuline's throw]

Or, check out some great photos from the Toss!