The THON 2022 Pep Rally kicked off just a bit after 8 p.m. Saturday night in front of a packed Bryce Jordan Center crowd.

Between special guests and exciting routines from Penn State’s athletic teams, the Pep Rally created an upbeat environment inside the BJC. In a stunning turn of events, the pep rally’s reigning champion of four years, men’s gymnastics, didn’t perform for an undisclosed reason.

Nonetheless, the event went on, with men’s and women’s soccer advancing to the finals. In the end, men’s soccer came out on top and took home the THON 2022 Pep Rally championship.

Penn State’s cheerleaders started off Pep Rally with a bang and got the crowd moving.

Emcee Mitch Gerber then introduced James Franklin and Sandy Barbour to the crowd. They came up on stage to give words of encouragement to dancers and express the importance of THON.

Super Bowl LVI champion Nick Scott, who danced in THON 2018, also joined Franklin on stage to talk about THON.

“Do me a favor and make some noise for all the THON kids and families here tonight,” Scott said.

If one former Penn State football star wasn’t enough, you were in luck. Steelers star tight end Pat Freiermuth made an appearance and took the stage to the tune of “MUUUUTH” chants from the crowd.

Freiermuth gave a signed football to two of the guest judges, Levi and Christian.

The men’s golf kicked off the performances with a nice dance routine that went along with songs like “Dynamite” and “Shut Up and Dance,” among others.

The women’s lacrosse team was IN SYNC with each other during its routine, as the group got the crowd into it with Pitbull’s “Feel This Moment.”

The defending Big Ten champions and soon-to-be pep rally champions put on a show, simply put. Rocking their wife-beaters and short shorts, there was plenty of flare from the group, including one of the members wearing a wig to impersonate Shakira.

Women’s volleyball delivered a flashy routine that featured a lot of colors and a “Bing Bong!” reference. They also broke out a “We Are” chant, which you can never go wrong with.

Men’s fencing went with a unique attire choice for their nifty performance.

Women’s golf went with a full High School Musical theme, and it was pretty sick.

While rocking Tune Squad shirts, women’s soccer delivered an impressive performance to the tune of Flo Rida’s “Good Feeling” and Dua Lipa’s “Levitating.”

The effort from women’s fencing was awesome. The team went with a full Pitbull theme, with one of them dressing up as Mr. 305 himself.

Women’s tennis, like women’s soccer, also wore Tune Squad shirts and rocked out to “All of the Lights.”

Penn State hoops head coach Micah Shrewsberry made an appearance Saturday night. It’s clear he’s absolutely beloved by Nittany Nation, as he was greeted with a loud ovation. He even broke out a little dance, too.

Field hockey kept the energy high with its exciting routine.

Then, the Symbol of our Best took the stage to hype up the crowd, followed by his annual 46 one-armed pushups in honor of THON.

Penn State football’s performance was flashy and impressive. Cornerback Kalen King stood out among the group as one of three players to backflip. The other two were Harrison Wallace III and Jaylen Reed.

Women’s hockey wrapped up the initial performances with, ironically, “Let’s Get It Started” while also mixing in “All I Do Is Win.”