Students gathered in the HKC as Recreational Sports hosted their annual spring Midnight Mayhem last Wednesday night. A popular favorite among Sam Houston State University students, Midnight Mayhem hosted a variety of activities that appealed to the students.
In the hot dog eating contest, freshman Eric Gann beat his competitors by drenching all three of his hot dogs and buns in water before devouring them. The night also kicked off with the peanut butter cookie and doughnut eating competitions.
“I actually saw an eating contest on ESPN, said Rec. Sports graduate assistant Steven Wright. “I thought it would be something different to offer,” he said.
With the popular success of the 2004 movie “Dodgeball,” the dodgeball tournament was the biggest crowd pleaser of the night according to students. Teams such as “The Boogers,” “Skillz that Killz” and “Garbage” competed in a full fledge battle to compete in the dodgeball final. Team “Garbage” defeated “Skillz that Killz” in the final face-off becoming the event’s dodgeball champions.
“Dodgeball is my favorite activity during Midnight Mayhem,” said Erica Czyz, a Boogers player. “It makes you feel like you’re a little kid again,” she said.
During “Alien” laser tag, four students were handed a laser gun where they raced through a maze of walls and fog trying to blast their opponents in three minutes. In The Incredible Hulk inflatable obstacle course, two students raced through obstacle walls, tunnel crawls, a wall climb and eventually slid down a giant slide to be the winner.
“I like all the different activities offered,” said SHSU cheerleader Joseph Hastings, “but my favorite is ‘The Incredible Hulk.'”
Senior Assistant Director of Recreational Sports Tina DeAses said that she was excited about Midnight Mayhem this year because not only did Rec. Sports have a new facility that was inviting to all SHSU students, but they wanted to offer an event that was fun and alcohol free.
“This event is so successful because we can still draw a crowd without beer, and that’s great,” said DeAses.
Other activities such as Hot Shot, Simon Says, Tug-O-War, Dance Dance Revolution, musical chairs, Spades, a Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament and the mechanical bull were also popular favorites among students.
“With Dance Dance Revolution, we brought in different students, said DeAses. “The participants were not the same intramural people that we see, and that’s a good thing because we want to appeal to everyone,” she said.
DeAses also said that the event would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the Recreational Sport staff that worked diligently to ensure the success of the event.
For more information about Recreational Sports, call (936) 294-1985 or visit online at http://www.shsu.edu/~rca_www/index.html.