Dancing in THON is a tall task. Dancers test the limits of the human mind, body, and spirit with 46 hours of continuous movement. Normally, that’d be enough for most participants to handle, but senior Club Croquet dancer Steve Hopkins seeks a greater challenge. Over the course of THON weekend, Hopkins plans to attempt well more than  1,000 pushups on the BJC’s floor.

It’s a bit unorthodox, as it’s rare to find a dancer wanting to test their physical limits at such a level, but for Hopkins, it’s nothing out of the ordinary.

“I wanted to do this mainly because in croquet, conditioning requires us to go above and beyond,” Hopkins said. “We usually do thousands of pushups over the course of our conditioning, so I figured 1,000 would be easy.”

Hopkins’ mind is strong, and his will even stronger. He knows he’s got the support of the entire club behind him — something he says will help propel him to the very end.

“We have plenty of outstanding athletes on this team, and they could’ve gone anywhere in the country to play,” Hopkins said. “To have their support this weekend, it’s absolutely incredible. Our organization is so close, and we’re all such great friends, so having their support means the world to me.

Pushups aside, this weekend holds a special place in Hopkins’ heart for a number of reasons — the most important being the health Nick, the club’s THON child. “Nick finished up his treatment this past August, so this year’s been really special for everybody involved,” Hopkins explained. “It’s also been one of our most successful fundraising efforts in years, so we’re really looking forward to the total reveal.”

Junior Ben Makdad — Hopkins’ teammate and friend — shared just how much it means to have him representing club croquet on the BJC floor. “Steve and our other dancer Erin Walz have been extremely involved in THON throughout their Penn State careers,” Makdad said. “They’re both seniors, and they earned this moment.”

Hopkins said he’s got 290 pushups down with plenty remaining. He noted he’s not worried about being too tired — he’s a croqueter, after all.