A group of potatoes had their eyes on the prize last week at Muldown Elementary.

They were competing in the Potato Olympics held in Benilda Delgado’s fourth grade class.

Students picked a potato to take care of during the week. They built beds to keep their potatoes safe and let them rest from a hard day of training.

They used math and science skills to find the height, weight and girth of their potato. They also wrote a biography about their potatoes as competitors in the Olympics.

The potatoes peeled off the warmth of their blankets and competed with desks pushed aside in the classroom.

The potato athletes participating in the 400 cm dash, spud soccer, spud high dive, spud bowling and potato luge. Winners earned paper medals for gold, silver and bronze.

Students put the potatoes through the paces of competition. Then they scooped them up to do it all over again. The fellow competitors waited during events as spectators.

The potatoes gave it their all during the competitions. Some gave (s)mashing performances. While a few looked like they were headed toward becoming fry pieces.

“Some of the potatoes have started to fade,” Delgado said.