Five members of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, 346 E. Prospect Ave., jumped to their feet as they swallowed the last few pokey sticks, chanting "We're not that full".

The fraternity won the men's portion of Gumby's Pokey Stick Bash '08, which benefits Camp Fire USA, Gamma Phi Beta sorority's philanthropy. Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity hosted last night's event, which raised more than $1,300, sorority member Theresa Fanelli (senior-bio-statistics) said.

"I've been training for this for months," Ludwig Papp (sophomore-nutrition and hotel, restaurant and institution management), a member of the winning team, said.

Papp said he did not feel sick, though he was upset that there was no marinara sauce for the pokey sticks.

"I'd like to thank my team managers, Tom and Steve, for always believing in me," said team member Corey Soileau (sophomore-history). He added that water was an important part of the competition.

Many students dipped the pokey sticks in water to make them easier to swallow, while others folded the sticks like a pizza.

Delta Delta Delta sorority finished first in the girl's portion of the competition.

"It was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life," Ali Cowit (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) said after winning. Her strategy was to "shove as much [food] as possible" into her mouth.

Each of the 21 teams, consisting of five members each, had to finish two boxes of pokey sticks and the first team to finish had to stand.

Tables filled most of the first floor of the fraternity and boxes of pokey sticks, ranch dressing and pitchers of water were set at each table. Most of the teams wore shirts with their greek letters on them, and sorority members pulled their hair back into ponytails.

Gumby's Pizza, donated 38 boxes of pokey sticks for the event.

Campfire USA benefits underprivileged city children who are sent to camp focusing on leadership for two weeks over the summer, said Liz Nolan (sophomore-special education), president of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

The sorority has been nationally involved with the organization for the past ten years, and this was the second annual Pokey Stick Bash, Nolan said.

"We hoped to do better than last year, which we definitely did," said Fanelli. "It was a little chaotic having so many people here, but it was a lot of fun."

The event was held at Kappa Alpha Order, 234 E. Beaver Ave., last year. Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity offered to host the event in order to become more involved with philanthropic events, Zach Noel (junior-kinesology), president of the fraternity said.

"One of the biggest things we tried to do over the past year is improve with philanthropy and community service," Noel said. "This is a big step and we're pretty excited."