Athletes showcase a scary good time

 
Goons, ghouls and goblins took over SIU Arena Wednesday.
There is no need to fear, however, as the invasion of masked monsters were actually student athletes. The SIU Athletics Department and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee hosted the second annual SIU Halloween Bash, an event aimed to give local children an opportunity to interact with SIU athletes as they take part in festive competitions.
“We’ve added a lot more everything this time around,” Assistant Athletic Director Kristina Therriault said. “We also have a lot more activities for the kids to do — there is face painting, pumpkin decorating, potato-sack races and even a haunted house.”
Therriault said the event is aimed to give the children a fun time, but also said the student-athletes benefit from the experience.
“This is a fun day for the students,” Therriault said. “They love to come out and play with the kids, it’s a day where they can dress up and be like little kids again.”
Students from every corner of Saluki athletics showed up to lend a hand in coordinating the event and running the various activities set up for the children.
Senior Allie Hanson, utility player for the softball team, dressed as a black cat Wednesday as she volunteered at the event for the second year.
“This is definitely rewarding experience for me,” Hanson said. “I feel like I’m giving back to my community this way — it feels good to give these kids something fun to do.”
Hanson said being a student-athlete brings the responsibility of following a code of conduct suitable to represent the Salukis because there are children who look up to them.
“With being an athlete here, you really have to have good behavior on and off the field,” Hanson said. “And my Wednesdays are usually the only night I have free, so I wanted to come here and play around with the kids for awhile.”
 The Arena doors opened at 6 p.m., and children, at the hips of their parents, were waiting to start the fun.
Amongst those anxious to enter were twins Cory and Kelsey King from Tri-C Elementary School in Carterville. Cory dressed up as Bumble Bee from Transformers, and Kelsey was a Disney princess.
Cory said his favorite Saluki athlete is cornerback Korey Lindsey from the football team.
Cory would like to have more in common with Lindsey than just his first name; he said he would like to be a future Saluki athletic star.
“I want to go to SIU because I want to win,” Cory said

Ray McGillis can be reached at 536-3311 ext 282