Sadie Hawkins, CIU-Style

Sadie Hawkins, CIU-Style

"The Blue Bruisers" and their first place prize, "The Golden Plunger," (left to right) Antwon Burgess, Kathy Swift, Jared Collins and Hailey Williamson. (Photos by Christine Benz, CIU student photographer)

By Brittany Bradley

CIU Student Writer

Sadie Hawkins at CIU isn’t the stereotypical dance scene. Instead, the annual spring event features the women asking the men to join their team for an afternoon of zany competition.

“[Organizing the event] has been pretty crazy but I think everyone has come together during crunch time,” sophomore Emily Calder said. “It’s cool to see how everyone worked together to pull it off.”

Twenty five teams, each composed of two men and two women, competed against the clock and one another at a myriad of stations testing their speed, teamwork, intellect, and creativity.

“It’s like a college field day on steroids” sophomore Jacob Moore said.

The 12 stations were manned by student and alumni volunteers who facilitated traditional games including three-legged-races and hot potato, but also unique games such as “guess that baby food” and a hair washing station — yes, teams worked together to lather, condition, and rinse a female teammate’s hair.

For each station, teams competed against one or two other teams and were awarded points accordingly: three points to first place, two points to second, and one point to third. After all the stations were complete, points were totaled and the top two teams advanced to a relay race finale. In an unprecedented turn of events, three teams tied for second place. The three way tie was settled by a 100 yard foot race and Team 7, self proclaimed “Blue Bruisers,” (Katy Swift, Jared Collins, Hailey Williamson & Antwon Burgess) advanced to the finale.

The “Blue Bruisers” competed against Team 1 (Brandon Eaves, Jeremy Gilbert, Katie Varwig & Hannah Panos) in the final round of competition: a relay race. The relay included a dizzy bat race, hula hooping contest, tractor tire roll, soccer dribbling drill, and finished with an army crawl. Team 1 started out strong, but the Blue Bruisers caught up when Swift took the lead in the soccer drill. The Blue Bruisers took first prize, bragging rights, and a $75 Outback gift card, while Team 1 walked away with second place and a $50 gift card.

“I’m pretty speechless right now,” senior Antwon Burgess said. “We came out and had a good day and had fun competing with our friends. [It was my] last Sadie Hawkins and we went out with a bang.”

See photos from Sadie Hawkins 2015 at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ciuimpact/.