After three rounds of competition, two grilled stickies, one blue ribbon and a 25-foot dash to the head of the lion shrine, John Sladewski became the first "Last Guard Standing" Friday night.

"It's absolutely amazing," Sladewski (freshman-chemical engineering) said. "I can't believe I did it as a freshmen."

"Last Guard Standing," a new competition sponsored by The Lion Ambassadors and the Penn State Alumni Association, takes a different spin on the tradition of guarding the Lion Shrine.

About 60 students competed in various events for two field tickets to the Homecoming game against Iowa from about 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

"I don't even know what to say," Sladewski said. "To get these, to stand on the turf with Joe Paterno ... it's an adrenaline rush."

The competitors were eliminated through a series of physical and mental tasks, which included three rounds of competition.

Will Chuang (senior-English) was one of the many enthusiastic guards who were ready to participate.

"I'm in love with the spirit of Penn State," Chuang said. "Blue and white, baby. Got to love it."

The first round of competition tested endurance as the guards stood on one foot blindfolded until 30 contestants remained, while the second round of competition asked participants trivia questions about the history of Penn State.

Michelle Rochkind represented The Penn State Singing Lions during the endurance contest, but was eliminated after she was bumped by her neighboring competitor.

"I'm kind of upset because someone bumped into me, but rules are rules," Rochkind (freshman-broadcast journalism) said.

The remaining 15 contestants had to guess which flavors of University Creamery ice cream they were fed while blindfolded during the third round of competition.

"I eat Creamery ice cream a lot but I always get the same flavor," Kim Lucey (junior-broadcast journalism) said. "So I don't think it's going to help me a lot right now."

Mike Steele (freshman-meteorology) was one of the 13 guards eliminated during the ice cream challenge.

"I just missed it," Steele said. "I just said mint and it was bittersweet mint."

Throughout the night, the Penn State cheerleaders, the Penn State Nittany Lionettes Dance Team, the Penn State Blue Band, JR and Katie, Savoir Faire and the Sigma Gamma Rho step team entertained the competitors and the supporting crowd.

The final round of competition was a relay race between the last two guards, Mike Aiello (senior-graphic design) and Sladewski.

Aiello came in second place and won a football signed by the Penn State football team and a jersey signed by Joe Paterno.

"I am disappointed," Aiello said. "The stickies killed me. They are so dry but [Sladewski] was chowing them down."

Clint Mickel, chairman of the Guarding the Shrine committee, was pleased with the amount of student participation in the event.

"We're really pleased with the outcome," he said. "Overall, we think it was a really good success."

The tradition of guarding the Lion Shrine began in 1966 when Sue Paterno and a friend painted the shrine with orange paint to spark interest in the Homecoming game against Syracuse University.

The next year real Syracuse fans painted the shrine with orange, and Penn State students have guarded the shrine ever since.