Garrett Hutchins won Lovejoy’s 2025 Senior Assassin competition. It took a little over a month to complete, beginning with over 200 players and dwindling down to just one person. Players were in teams this year, and they were assigned another team to assassinate.
At A Glance:
Favorite water gun: Weal Maker
Favorite water temperature: 104 degrees
Favorite pre-splashing hype song: Water by Kanye West
Who is your role model: Nolon Novotny
Looking Deeper:
The Red Ledger: Why did you play Senior Assassin?
Garrett Hutchins: I played Senior Assassin, because I watched the 2023 seniors play, as well as watching my older brother play, and it looked like a lot of fun.
TRL: Who did you play with and why?
GH: I played with Reese Ogden, Colton McClure and Beau Brumley. I chose them, because they are some of my closest friends, and I know we work well together.
TRL: Describe the process in finding out your target and tracking them through the app.
GH: Every Monday, new targets were released. The morning of the round resets were always fun, because you got to track new targets, and it was interesting, because I could learn their routines to help make a plan. The app was kind of buggy and wouldn’t update sometimes making it hard to track my targets.
TRL: What was your strategy for getting people out?
GH: My best strategy was just constantly checking the app, and I was usually able to have an idea of my targets’ routine, so I could plan when to go out and hunt them.
TRL: What was the strategy for staying alive?
GH: My strategy for staying alive was parking in the garage, and if I couldn’t, making sure I checked before I got out of my car. There were multiple times people camped in/near my driveway waiting for me to get out of my car or my friends car.
TRL: What did you think about the safe zones?
GH: I liked the safe zones. I’m glad church and work parking lots were safe, so I didn’t have to worry about going to either of those.
TRL: What was the most memorable thing that happened while playing?
GH: The most memorable thing that happened while playing was being in a standoff with Caden Krause, EJ Morrow, Devin Muaina, and Alec Turnbow in the Chipotle parking lot. It was super funny just sitting there waiting for something to happen.
TRL: Who were the last people in, and how did it work in the final round?
GH: The last people in were Jayce Seaber, Trinity McWhorter, Ella Ashley, Reeyhan Ahmed and I. The final round/s were a purge, we all had one another’s locations and we were able to eliminate any players we could, the admin changed safe zones making school affiliated event parking lots no longer safe as well as work parking lots.
TRL: What did you learn during this experience?
GH: I learned to be more attentive while playing the game, like just noticing a running car parked next to mine in the Walmart parking lot or people hiding around the corner at Andy’s drive thru.
TRL: What is it like now that the game has ended?
GH: Now that the game is over, it’s nice to be able to be out in public without having to look over my shoulder or worry about who might have my location and be watching what I am doing.
TRL: What are you going to do with the money?
GH: I gave some of the money I made to my teammates and with the rest, I’m going to save for next year.
TRL: What advice would you give upcoming seniors for next year?
GH: Always park in the garage, check your targets’ location constantly, don’t go to a gym that people can get into (so many people got out at the gym). Find some teammates who you work well with and just have fun playing the game.
