Rec Hall roared last night as Thon overall committee members revealed the total amount of money raised this year to benefit children with cancer.

The Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon raised $3,613,178 for the Four Diamonds Fund, topping last year's record of $3,609,830 by almost $3,500.

Of all the organizations contributing to Thon, the top money raisers were Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, 321 E. Fairmount Ave., and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Jayme Rubright, Thon Overall Chair, announced that the two organizations raised $307,924.

Thon opened Friday night with the National Anthem, followed by an introduction video, Thon's Angels, a collage of clips from movies such as Charlie's Angels, Footloose and Half Baked.

Delta Sigma Theta sorority then performed a step onstage, followed by a group of break dancers who entertained sitting Thon dancers in the middle of the floor.

The Nittany Lion also took to the stage to perform a Michael Jackson impression, decked out in an iridescent jacket and a single white glove, and moon walking to songs such as "Billie Jean."

Thon chairs offered words of encouragement to the dancers before they took to their feet for 48 hours strait.

Rubright gave the dancers "two reasons why everyone will finish.

"This room is filled with people who are so proud of you, who just love you so much," Rubright said. "You're here for one reason and one reason only: so you can dance for the kids."

At 7 p.m., the first song began and the dancers stood up.

Organizations cheered from the stands to their dancers, calling out their names and waving banners. Many dancers stood in place, while others walked around Rec Hall's perimeter.

On Saturday, celebrities from MTV's Road Rules 10, The Real World 10 and The Real World 11 appeared during the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Show.

Sophia Pasquis, from Road Rules 10, was one of the cast members present.

Pasquis enjoyed the event, which her fellow cast member, Steve Meinke, told her about, she said.

Meinke expected Thon to be small, but upon arriving, he was surprised by the event's size, he said.

"I really didn't know what to expect when I came here," Meinke said. "It's 20 times what I expected it to be."

Pasquis said she enjoyed dancing with Penn State students at the event.

"If I knew about it earlier, I would have been a dancer because booty shaking and helping kids are things I love to do," she said.

The final hours of Thon last night saw many tears as the Four Diamonds families thanked everyone for the event.

Dancers hooked arms and cried as a video commemorated five deceased Four Diamonds children.

After Amy Nawrocki, family relations chair, introduced the Four Diamonds families, Four Diamonds child Kristin Gillead Cotton read a poem she wrote that reflected her experience during and after her struggle with cancer.

Cotton recalled the "hours of fear" she experienced before going into surgery.

"I now treasure each day, each hour, each minute and each second," she said.