When Penn State alumnus Mike Meyer returned to campus this weekend for the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, he brought 30 of his youngest friends with him.

Meyer, a North Carolina middle school guidance counselor, has hosted a "mini-Thon" at Cedar Creek Middle School for the last three years. For the second year in a row, Meyer was invited to bring some of his students to Penn State to see first-hand what Thon is like at Penn State.

The Cedar Creek dance marathon raised more than $10,000 last year, Meyer said.

"We had a little over 200 kids participate in it last year," he said, adding that the event lasts 12 hours, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

He said the event garnered local television coverage, and about one-third of the school's student population participated in it.

"We're one of the few middle schools in the country that does this," he said.

Proceeds are divided between a local branch of the United Way and the Duke Children's Miracle Network.

In order to get 30 students and 20 chaperones to visit Penn State this weekend, Meyer said students sold Krispy Kreme donuts and paid out of pocket for the tour bus and hotel accommodations.

Andrew Jensen, a Cedar Creek eighth grader, participated in the school's first two dance marathons and intends to participate in the one coming up later this year.

Jensen said community members spend the first two hours of the marathon at the school, during which there is a laser light show.

"Every year, I've fallen asleep at the last hour," he said.

"The crowding's about the same, but once the community leaves, it's nothing like this," Jensen said on the Rec Hall dance floor.

Meyer said the school devises a number of diversions for students, including inflatable moon bounces, pie tosses and dunk tanks.

"It was kind of funny because we did some crazy things," Jensen said, adding that seeing some of his teachers dancing at the marathon was a funny sight.

Joshua Rogers, a sixth grader at Bunn Middle School, a few miles from Cedar Creek, said students at Bunn were invited to come to Penn State because, although Bunn does not have a dance event, it raises money to benefit the Cedar Creek marathon.

"They're going to raise enough money to sponsor Cedar Creek," said Meyer, who works at both middle schools.

Meyer said Penn State was the inspiration for his miniature version of Thon. He graduated from Penn State in 1999 with a master's degree in counseling.

Getting the event started was difficult, Meyer said, but it proved to be bigger than even he had expected.

"The first year, there were a lot of people who thought this was going to be a disaster," he said.

The first year Cedar Creek hosted the event was a trial run, he said. He added that the community responded positively.

"Everything is paid for by community sponsorship," he said. "It's gotten a lot bigger than I imagined."

The students left Cedar Creek Thursday and spent Friday visiting Lancaster, touring Hershey and snow tubing at Tussey Mountain.

In Amish country, the students were able to ride with a horse and buggy.

"We had to stop in the middle of the road and let the horse go to the bathroom," Rogers said.

After appearing on stage during Thon at 3 p.m. Saturday, the students from North Carolina were able to spend about two hours on the dance floor.

"It's almost insane out here," Meyer shouted when he stepped onto the dance floor after the students' appearance on the main stage.

"It's just all amazing. I wasn't expecting this at all," Bunn High School ninth grader Casey Perry said. He said he was able to jump rope and play volleyball on the dance floor.