Winona State University’s annual Zombie Crawl was hosted on Oct. 20 in Maxwell Field. The stadium was still buzzing as cheers and music could be heard as student athletes and staff put out games, equipment, and of course candy out on the field by the entrance of the stadium.
Fresh after a Winona State women’s soccer game against Southwest Minnesota State University, groups of student athletes set up their own stations of games that the group created. Sports teams like Women’s and Men’s Basketball, Women’s Volleyball, Gymnastics, and Track and Field all showed their support at the event.
The group of student athletes from Track and Field covered a corner of the turf with games relating to their sport like long jump and a relay race.
Fourth-year student athlete and Hurdler Regan Feit has been on track and field for four years and has enjoyed the tradition of the Zombie Crawl at Winona State. With the support of her fellow teammates, Feit enthusiastically explains the games to children and smiles while handing over a pool noodle for their first activity.
“This is my fourth year on the team, so it’s my last. Every year, what makes me come back is the team camaraderie that we have and then how the community of Winona is so involved with all the sports at Winona State,” Feit said. “We switch up what the obstacle course is, but we like to relate it to our sport. So we have Jav, and we have some long jumps, and then we have the relay and stuff.”
Second-year student athlete and Sprinter Lani Hubka agrees that the team camaraderie is what not only makes the Zombie Crawl successful and engaging but it also inspires her to continue the sport.
“I really like to travel and to see new places and race against other teams and just push myself.” Hubka said.
The sun warmed the stadium as more parents and children entered the stadium and the Zombie Crawl began. Having opportunities for the community to connect with Winona State through events like these have become a beloved tradition for participating student athletes.
“It’s nice, this year we get to be outside. The entire time I’ve been here, we have not been able to be outside just because of the weather,” Feit said. “It’s nice to have a bigger space to be able to do this, and a lot of other sports are able to do maybe a little bit of a different activity for the kids.”
Supplied with beach balls, volleyballs, basketballs, and gymnastics incline mats in all different shapes and colors, student athletes from a variety of different sports showed up to represent their sport with fun and creative games and activities for the community.
Third-year student athlete and Track and Field Sprinter Courtney Lukas enjoyed running games and talking with community members. Children in costumes like a mummy, a unicorn, a dinosaur, and even Garfield attended the event.
“It’s fun that we get to do the activities with the community like this. [My favorite part about] events like these are the little kids,” Lukas said. “The little kids are so fun, and they get so excited when they feel like they’re part of something.They’re all just so, so excited.”
