Many students gathered in the auxiliary gymnasium during A and B HATS on Friday, Feb. 22 to witness the Wing Bowl. 

When first entering the gymnasium, there was the overwhelming scent of buffalo wings from Lee’s Hoagie House that smacked you across the face. Having previously bought a $2 ticket during lunch the days leading up, the student audience would walk up to the table attended by Student Council members to highlight their names, then sit on the bleachers. Walking to their seats students watched as Wing Bowl contestants prepared for their hardy lunches with their personal wing counters standing behind them.

Participants had their names typed neatly on a folded paper as a name tag in front of them like a person of high status with engraved name plaques on their desks in their offices. These participant’s offices were the gym that day and they were ready to do their work. Those participating consisted of Alanna Barberio, Hayley Goldberg, Christian Flores, Sean Zimmerman, Samantha Sienkiewicz, Raphael Yanoff, Joanne Lee, Logan Fisher, Krish Patel, Christine Zhang, Anthony Branco, Judge Murwin, Max Lebofsky, Kyle Long, Stevie Jervis and Teo Bautista-Ramos. These 18 contestants each represented different teams and clubs they were in; those clubs and sports sponsored the contestants.

The Wing Bowl was one of the many fundraisers for Mini-THON; Mini-THON is a miniature version of THON, an event put on by Penn State. They raise money to help fight pediatric cancer by playing games and having a dance marathon. Wing Bowl generated about $700-$800 for Mini-THON. The student council has been putting on Wing Bowl to raise money for Mini-THON for 3 years. Before Wing Bowl was put on by the Student Council for Feed a Friend in the fall time; they stopped the Wing Bowl for a few years, but now they use Wing Bowl as a Mini-THON fundraiser.

As the contest began lively senior and Student Council member Grady Tschorn got on the microphone and announced the contestants’ names aloud. Tschorn explained the rules of Wing Bowl: the contestants participate in three rounds of seven minutes, five minutes and two minutes. After each round people are eliminated for not eating enough wings, and if you vomit you are eliminated.

When round one began the sound of intense music blared through speakers. The contestants started with one place which consisted of 10 wings; after they finished their plates they were given another. Clear plastic cups of water were given to each contestant to help them handle the heat.

A pause between round one and two for the contestants still competing to recuperate. Their faces were red from exhaustion. During round two some contestants begin to look sick,

In round three, two girls, Hayley Goldberg and Alanna Barberio, had a one-wing difference between them, and they ate for the title of the female winner.

The competition ended with a win from Alanna Barberio, the “small girl with a big appetite,” due to Hayley Goldberg throwing up in the 3rd round and being disqualified.

The winner, Sean Zimmerman, “didn’t expect to win” and “just came out for fun,” he said.

He also does not even like wings.