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[ Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000 ]
Athletes boost dancers' spirits
By Adam Dean
Collegian Staff Writer
A pep rally involving most of Penn State's athletic teams boosted the spirits of the dancers of the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon early Sunday morning.
Members of the Penn State basketball, football, volleyball, lacrosse, and wrestling teams joined with the cheerleaders, the dance team, the Blue Band and others in the rally, which started around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, in support of Thon 2000 in Rec Hall.
The dancers of Thon, staying awake while on their feet 48 hours to raise money to benefit The Four Diamonds Fund, watched as the freshmen football players sang "We Are the World" and showed off their moves to "Jump in the Line (Shake Senora)."
Other acts included a keen impersonation of the Backstreet Boys song "Larger Than Life" by the men's lacrosse team, and "Shout" performed by the men's basketball team and the dance team.
PHOTO: Cara Herter/Collegian
The Penn State dance team performs at Thon Sunday morning while the Nittany Lion, along with a group of youngsters, sit back and watch.
The Nittany Lion and the Penn State featured twirler, Blue Sapphire, shared a dance to "I've Had the Time of My Life" to bring an end to the pep rally.
Stephan Bekale, a freshman on the men's basketball team, said he thought Thon was a great cause and he was very excited about representing his team on stage.
Rich Gardner and Matt Kranchick, both freshmen football players, had never participate in Thon before and were impressed by how many people took part.
Sophomores Nell Sweet and Meri Shapiro, both members of the cheerleading squad, said the pep rally was fun and helped boost spirits.
Even those who were not dancing were impressed with the athletes' enthusiasm and dedication to keeping the dancers' spirits alive and their feet moving.
"It made people more energetic and it woke them up," Sonny Gornek (sophomore-nutrition), a member of the morale team, said.
Most importantly, the activity had a positive effect on the dancers. The rally came at a critical time for the dancers, when most were starting to get tired and the foot pain was starting to set in.
"It really helped a lot," Natalie Kenworthy (sophomore-music), a dancer, said about the pep rally.
The 48-hour marathon began on Friday at 7 p.m., and lasted until 7 p.m. Sunday. The annual event has raised more than $11 million since 1977, raising more than $3 million this year. More than 600 dancers participated in Thon 2000.
