Feature Photo -- Clockwise from top left: Stacy Rucci, Becca Main, Elle Stone Race, Kelly Heiser, Amy Stairs, and Susann Bisignaro. Not pictured: Michele Brennan
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - In February 1991 thousands of Penn State students "danced" for 48 hours to support pediatric cancer in the THON dance marathon. Among these students were seven Penn State field hockey players: Susann Bisignaro, Michele Brennan, Kelly Heiser, Becca Main, Stacey Rucci, Amy Stairs, and Eleanor Stone.
As THON celebrates its 50th Anniversary this weekend on February 18th, 2022, Penn State field hockey is celebrating its historical participation in THON by recognizing this group of players from '91 and reminiscing about their time during THON weekend.
When THON was created in 1973 by former Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Bill Lear, student-athletes did not have many opportunities to participate in this dance marathon. In 1991 this changed.
"Honestly at Penn State, THON was always an interfraternity/sorority thing, but it was always interesting to see and to look from the outside in, so to finally get the opportunity and get invited by ChiPhi Fraternity to join them to dance and to raise money was such a huge honor and to be one of the first groups of athletes to come through THON and to see where it's come now is amazing," Stairs said. "It was our first experience doing something fraternity-wise on a big scale. It was a big deal."
Leading up to THON, the seven field hockey players got involved with the community and the ChiPhi Fraternity by helping to raise money for pediatric cancer.
"It starts with raising the money, and back then we would go out with our cans and it seemed like our part was so small in what we were able to generate but when you add it up it was overwhelming. There are so many people out there doing their little part and when you add it up, all of the pieces to be able to come up with an amount that can do so much good for cancer research is really kind of cool just to be one of those little pieces that contributed," Bisignaro said.
After the team's effort in fundraising, they then took on the challenge of standing for 48 hours to keep raising awareness for pediatric cancer.
"It was so much fun, but obviously at some point you start to get physically and mentally tired. I remember that point and each of us, my teammates and I sort of handled it a different way, we each had our different coping mechanisms," Bisignaro said.
Even though everyone had different coping mechanisms, they all had one in common: supporting and encouraging each other.
"I remember leaning on each other, literally," Heisier said. "But you always felt rejuvenated because every time you felt like you couldn't do it anymore or had to stop, someone new would come in visiting and encourage you."
Even the field hockey players who were not dancing in THON still showered support by visiting throughout the weekend.
"They all came. Every single one," Brennan said. "They were incredibly supportive, and I remember seeing almost every single face throughout the night."
Not only did these teammates rely on each other to power through tough hours,
the children and the meaning behind THON helped them find the strength to get through the weekend.
"I think one of my favorite memories is the middle hours of the night where your legs were just burning and you were trying to take the focus off the burning of your legs and wanting to sit for a little bit and a little girl who was recovering came up and gave this cute little speech with her mom and I just remember hysterically balling and everything that was going on in my own body, the pain left me," Brennan said. "I had almost reset and started completely over and I felt no pain in my body because it was such a sweet and sad story but it was incredibly uplifting."
Bisignaro also remembered a moment in that weekend that helped her.
"You get second winds when you start heading into the home stretch and you know the kids are going to come out and then announce how much we raised and it that was just the most emotional thing ever when that occurred because at that point you have been wide awake for so many hours and at the end of your straw," Bisignaro said. "It was just so incredible, that feeling that you did something to help these kids."
After the weekend came to an end, the teammates carried the experience and bond created during THON onto the field, ultimately reaching the NCAA semifinals the following season.
"You are standing there for 48 hours with your teammates trying to keep each other going, so it's really the ultimate test of camaraderie and collaboration between the team. It was your ultimate. You are at your worst, and who's going to be the person who picks everyone up," Main said."You learn a lot about each other and that is always going to be helpful for us on the field and it really was. We were successful before that but after that we kind of just went through the roof in terms of what we were doing as a program."
The end of THON weekend also allowed for the team to reflect on their impact and the importance of their participation in the community outside of field hockey.
"It's so good for the soul to realize that you are doing something outside yourself because even as an athlete, you can kind of get stuck in, 'I'm playing my sport for my school, I'm playing my sport for me, for my coach,' and then all of the sudden you are doing something that is completely outside of yourself so that part is really humbling and probably the best experience," Main said.
At the end of this THON experience, the team was proud to represent each other.
"We were very proud of our team. You felt recognized for your membership on the Penn State field hockey team," Heiser said. "We felt very proud to be representing the team during THON."
The team also felt it was a privilege to be able to represent their coach, Charlene Morett-Curtiss, and the Penn State field hockey program throughout their journey.
"I felt extraordinarily privileged to come together as a team and really represent Char and everything she stood for because she has phenomenal values as a person," Brennan said. "It was a privilege to be a representative of the Penn State field hockey team in order to show our support for those who are in need. Every single person who did it never complained and was absolutely excited to represent the team."
This upcoming weekend current Penn State field hockey student-athletes Brianna O'Donnell and Hannah Zemaitis will be representing Penn State field hockey as they stand for 46 hours in support of pediatric cancer and bring awareness to this philanthropy.
