Morale captains practicing their final group dance for the dance marathon in the Ohio Union on Oct. 29. Credit: Lauren Savitsky | Lantern Reporter
In hour 10 of the 12-hour dance marathon, when participant’s legs feel too tired to take another step, 50 students in colorful outfits take the stage, cheering and dancing in unison to a pop remix to reenergize the crowd.
They’re BuckeyeThon’s morale captains, tasked with keeping all 1,000 participants dancing all day long.
BuckeyeThon, Ohio State’s dance marathon for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, depends on these morale captains — part dance crew, part pep squad — who spend weeks perfecting routines and positivity to keep dancers moving to the final confetti cannon on Feb. 7, 2026.
“They’re the heartbeat of the dance marathon because they bring the hype and the energy,” Holly Nadinic, a third-year in health sciences who serves as one of the morale coordinators, said.
The morale committee is made up of the director of the dance marathon, morale coordinators and morale captains.
The captains are then split into color teams, each dressing in their respective colors to promote upbeat energy, and collaborate to perform routines at the marathon.
Each color team, led by an executive captain supported by about six other captains, represents up to three champion kids at Nationwide Children’s Hospital battling childhood cancer, said Peyton O’Reilly, director of the dance marathon and a fourth-year in biomedical engineering.
Alexcia Domenico, a second-year in health sciences and a morale captain, said she enjoys motivating the participants.
“It’s such a feel good environment,” Domenico said.
Sara Merzic, a third-year in biology and the other morale coordinator, said the captains begin practicing in September, and veteran members start planning for the next BuckeyeThon as early as April.
O’Reilly said practices are held every Wednesday night leading up to the main event to learn the dances and build team-chemistry.
O’Reilly said the program continues to grow and is currently in an expansion phase. A second morale coordinator was added for support and 20 more captains were added to create a 55-member team.
Merzic said the captains maintain the energy during the event.
“I like to think of the morale captains as the cheerleaders of BuckeyeThon,” Merzic said. “Two of our morale captains wore blue tutus and blue afros … they really like to go all out.”
The role demands being the main source of enthusiasm throughout the marathon. Memorizing hours of choreography isn’t easy, but participants rely on the captains to keep them motivated when fatigue sets in, Domenico said.
“Sometimes it can be a little bit disheartening when people leave and come back, but for us, we go back to our community and do it for the kids,” Domenico said.
For these dedicated volunteers, the sore legs and scratchy voices are worth it for the cause.
“I think they show how much other people are working and how we all should be fundraising for pediatric cancer,” O’Reilly said.
