Senior cinematic arts and technology major Cejaye Erickson is the six-time winner of the CSUMB semesterly Mario Kart tournament, a streak now into its fourth year.
The story of every great sports superstar needs two things. The first is unrivaled dominance in their era. The second is much rarer, destiny. Erickson has both.
The moment of destiny? A freshman Erickson – only a week or so into his college career – would win a Nintendo Switch at the 2022 Monte Royale casino night. “The only reason I’m good at Mario Kart is because freshman year me and my friends won the switch at the Monte Royale casino night,” said Erickson.
His friends, four of them, would spend the next years of their life playing Mario Kart with what friend and rival Emelio Careon would describe as “religious fervor.” One of those roommates, fourth-year kinesiology major Nate Lewit describes the process as “iron sharpening iron.”
Erickson is tall, yet quiet and soft spoken, maybe even shy. He has short messy hair which falls just over his face. His build implies an athletic background, as does his supreme calm and poise. He wears a Yoshi mask (provided to all the guests by the organizers) perched just above his forehead, a homage to the character he races with.
Photo by Sean Tubo
In an interview before the tournament, he was loath to talk about himself. He wasn’t boasting exactly, but there was a hint of levity and even pride in his short answers.
“How are you so good at Mario Kart?”
“Practice and hard work,” says Erickson.
Of the four roommates, only Lewit could make an appearance. “He’s kind of like Lebron (James),” Lewit said, comparing Erickson to the Los Angeles Lakers’ star, “because he has so much longevity. Ever since we were freshmen, he’s won the tournament.”
Erickson isn’t immune to the pressure, he only seems driven by it. “Every time you win there’s more pressure,” said Erickson. “I hate losing.”
Before the second bracket, Careon – friend but also competitor- shook his hand, “I just wanna race you in the finals one more time.”
He won the first two races of the finals with ease, but the third map was a dogfight, his opponents still in striking distance of a tie. The race was on Grumble Volcano, a map filled with sinking earth and erupting magma. A few spots of bad luck left him in sixth place on the third lap, well behind the head of the pack.
“You’re fighting for second,” said Careon. “You may be close but if you mess up one turn? CeJaye’s already gone. He knows exactly what lines to take and he just vanishes.”
Halfway through the third lap, luck would turn back his way. Two good items fell into his lap, a speed boosting mushroom which allowed him to race through a dangerous part of the course and three powerful red shells which seek and stun the opponent ahead. In just two turns, he was back to closely trailing the pack
The race ended in a photo finish, as he used the last red shell to snag first. The fourth and final race, mathematically just a formality, Erickson won by an even larger margin than the first. It’s a perfect victory, 60/60 possible points.
Erickson, ever humble, collected his winning prize, a Mario Lego Set, stood for a picture, and readied himself to go home.
“Just another day, just another day. We’ll be back next semester,” said Erickson.
Sean Tubo wrote about this competition as an extra credit assignment for his Introduction Reporting class