Waylon Madison Sauer loved many things. This weekend, two of his passions will be celebrated in honor of his memory — basketball and giving back to his community.
The second annual Waylon Madison Sauer Memorial 3v3 Basketball Tournament will be held Sunday, April 6 at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, beginning at 10 a.m.
The event was founded last year by Tayna Silva and Volkert Kleeman as a way to remember their classmate who died in a car accident in 2023. It is also a fundraiser for the Waylon Sauer Scholarship Fund. Last year’s scholarship went to graduating senior Jahzarah McIntosh.
The tournament is being organized again by Tayna and Volkert.
“Having this tournament helps bring the community together, so we can grieve, we can mourn and also celebrate his life and his legacy, and just who he was, because we all miss him dearly,” Tayna said.
Waylon would have graduated from the regional high school this year, something that Tayna and the rest of the senior class think about often.
“There’s 200 kids in our class, and so if you think about it, a little bit of him is going with us wherever we go, whatever we accomplish in life,” she said. “So he will always be with us, and we’ll always remember him in his memory and who he was.”
Basketball felt like the perfect way to honor Waylon’s memory, Tayna said. She recalled Waylon being a member of the varsity boys basketball team, volunteering with the Unified Basketball Team, and playing pick-up games with his friends after school.
Having shared a handful of classes with Waylon, Tanya remembered a prank pulled during sophomore year involving coordinating everyone’s phone ringers to go off at the same time. The mastermind of the plan? Waylon.
“It’s harmless and it’s just such a great memory, and it just shows how funny he was, and he really just bonded with everyone,” she said. “He clicked with every person he met. No one I know has had a bad experience with him.”
Tayna is hoping for a large turnout on Sunday.
“I hope this tournament stands the test of time and continues so people continue to celebrate and remember him,” she said.
More details on how to sign up and donate can be found at visit liveforwaylon.org.
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