Clever car prank at Redmond lifted school spirit

Q: What is the most clever high-school prank you know of that had the ingredient of school spirit?

A: On May 29, 2001, Redmond High School senior Kat Misenar and her family cut open a 1985 Mazda, then maneuvered it sideways so that the school flagpole was in the middle of the vehicle. Then they reattached the missing parts to the car so it looked like it had been impaled by the flagpole.

Even Misenar's grandparents were involved with the middle-of-the-night operation that included lookouts with walkie-talkies.

The car, a junker owned by a neighbor, was painted in Redmond's school colors, green and gold. That color scheme helped make the prank a hit.

Principal Brian Hunter said at the time, "It's a harmless prank, very creative and it's inspired a little school spirit."

The car was allowed to stay in position for weeks.

Misenar decided to lay low for about a day until it was clear the prank had been well-received. Then the 16-year-old senior admitted she was the ringleader of pranksters that included her father, Greg, then a member of the Redmond City Council.

MTV was so taken with the stunt that it had her recreate it in 2003 — this time with cameras rolling. The show, with other pranks, aired for the first time in 2004 and occasionally gets reshown. The prank indirectly led to an MTV internship in New York for Misenar, now a University of Washington senior finishing her degree in creative writing and working as a news assistant at KIRO-TV.

"It made me happy we got away with it," Misenar said. "In years past, guys would talk and talk and nothing would ever happen."

Q: I was at the Juanita-Lake Washington boys basketball game last week and LW students were chanting, "No way, NBA!" at Juanita star Micah Downs. He is flirting with the idea of trying to turn pro. I thought it was funny. What are some spontaneous chants you have heard or heard about and enjoyed?

A: Gig Harbor was beating football power South Kitsap in basketball years ago and the South Kitsap students started chanting, "Let's play football! Let's play football!" Recently, however, South Kitsap has been stronger in basketball than football.

Issaquah sharpshooter Garrison Carr looked young for his age as a sophomore and when he went to the free-throw line, Skyline students chanted, "Past your bedtime! Past your bedtime!"

Bothell lost a state football quarterfinal to Capital in 2002 on a hook-and-ladder (a trick play where a receiver catches a pass and laterals to a teammate running past). When Bothell coaches went to scout a Capital opponent in 2003, Capital students spotted them in Bothell jackets and started chanting, "Hook and ladder! Hook and ladder!" The Bothell coaches just laughed and waved to acknowledge the cleverness.

When twins Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart were playing for Rainier Beach, Rodrick went to the free-throw line early in a game against Mercer Island and Islander students chanted, "Lodrick's better! Lodrick's better!" Rodrick sank the free throw and shot the crowd a "That-should-shut-you-up" look.

Q: What are useful Web sites for fans of winter sports?

A: We'll start by plugging our own site, www.Seattletimes.com. It is so detailed it even has game-by-game scoring by Seattle-area basketball players. The Washington Interscholastic Activity Association's site, www.WIAA.com has a lot of information plus up-to-date league standings and results. www.Finalscore.tv has news and rankings. The site www.washingtonwrestling.com is good and has links to other wrestling sites, including www.washingtonwrestlingreport.com. The site www.Washingtonpreps.com covers a variety of sports and is well worth a visit. The best swimming site is www.wisca.org but only coaches have access to the rankings portion of this site. The site www.bsports.org has information about the state's Class B leagues and schools. Looking ahead to spring, one of the best sites is the track site www.watfxc.com. It also covers cross country, so it is useful in the fall.

Have a question about high-school sports? Craig Smith will find the answer every Tuesday in The Times. Ask your question in one of the following ways: Voice mail (206-464-8279), snail mail (Craig Smith, Seattle Times Sports, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111) or e-mail csmith@seattletimes.com