Cane Spree By long tradition the freshmen class takes on the sophomores in a variety of athletic competitions including softball, basketball, swimming, tennis, culminating with a unique competition known as cane wrestling, where two opponents-- one from each class-- attempt to wrest a three foot wooden cane from one another. According to legend, the Sophomores always win. In the Fall of 1966, the upstart Class of 1970 soundly sent the Class of 1969 packing -- becoming the first freshmen to defeat their elders in over a decade. Consider this from the Daily Princetonian: The meet between the yearlings and their supposedly more experienced opponents wasn't even close. The frosh overwhelmed the sophs by a score of 395 to 235. From the beginning, there was little doubt of the dominance of the Class of '70 in Cane Spree.