A giant inflatable obstacle course took over the South Quad Wednesday as the ROCFest week events continued on campus.

Patrick Morrow, the Residence Hall Association vice president, said that ROCFest events are a great way to bring students together.

“The aim of ROCFest as a whole is to get everyone to get to know each other from the different halls,” he said.

Four representatives from each residence hall took on the obstacle course in an attempt to achieve the fastest time as a team.

Participants had to duck and weave their way through the course before making their way down the giant slide and tagging the next student.

The students representing Weller Hall were optimistic heading into the competition.

Ryan Johnson, a sophomore biological sciences major, said he felt confident Weller was headed for another victory.

“We’re coming off the adrenaline rush from the win at the boat race, so we’re expecting another win here,” Johnson said.

Anne Brown, a sophomore biological sciences major, stepped up to the obstacle course to represent Weller in her first ROCFest event.

“It seemed like fun and I wanted to get involved,” she said.

The team said their only tactic for the competition was to go fast.

Weller beat Ford Hall by 20 seconds in the first competition.

Nate Lemenager, a sophomore business management major, somersaulted his way from the top of the slide to celebrate Weller’s win.

Clayton Mieszala, a sophomore history major, also representing Weller, said he felt good following his run.

“It was easy,” he said. “The hardest part was probably the first because I had to go over and down a triangle that had inflatable logs above it.”

Subsequent rounds saw Thomas beating Lawson, then Stevenson over Lincoln.

Weller was victorious overall with a time of 1 minute 32 seconds, followed by Ford in second place with 1 minute 52 seconds and Thomas close behind in third with 1 minute 55 seconds.

Participants from Weller were excited about securing another victory for their residence hall.

“It’s another 25 points towards Weller,” Lemenager said. “Now we’re just increasing our lead.”

Johnson said they are hoping for a win for the fifth year in a row.

While those in attendance were enthusiastic, it was the lowest turnout at a ROCFest event this week.

Laura Imbirowicz, the resident director of Lawson Hall, said she was positive despite this.

“I wish we would have had more teams from each of the halls, but the participation we did have was really good,” she said.

ROCFest events will continue for the remainder of the week, with a 12-hour scavenger hunt beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday and the closing picnic Friday.

Laura Hamlyn can be reached at 581-2812 or lkhamlyn@eiu.edu.