Jordin Sparks’ and Chris Brown’s song “No Air” blasted through speakers as athletic trainers acted out saving an athlete who had run out of air.

Athletic trainers earned first place in the ninth annual Jock Jams lip sync fundraising event for their performance in front of more than 1,000 athletes, friends and family.

The charity event, held in the Student Center Ballroom Monday night, raised money for the American Cancer Society and Walls Elementary School.

Ashley Wagner, senior athletic training major, said she was excited to earn first place after getting second to men’s track and field and cross country last year.

“It feels great,” she said. “Last year we came in second, and we knew there were going to be a lot of teams to beat, especially track.”

Twelve teams showed off their dancing skills by competing for the Jock Jams trophy with lip sync performances. The teams were comprised of a variety of athletic teams, as well as employees from the equipment room and athletic trainers. A panel of judges rated each performance for creativity, choreography, originality, time management and crowd involvement.

The athletic training members performed the winning routine where some members picked songs from a giant iPod in a car while others performed the songs onstage. The dancers acted out to popular music how the group takes care of various athletes.

In second place, the softball team performed the story of the MAC Championship. The performance was a parody of “The Wizard of Oz,” where members searched for objects they needed to bring home a 2011 MAC Championship.

Women’s track and field and cross country earned third place by using a time machine to take the audience through six decades of music.

Angie Seabeck, director of student athlete development, said the student athletes enjoy being able to express their creative talents through the event.

“It gives them a good release,” she said. “With all of the stress they have going on, it’s something that they put together every year as a fun event.”

Jennifer Kernohan, senior middle childhood education major, said she enjoyed getting to see the athletes in an environment that she normally would not.

“I thought it was really cool to see what they came up with,” she said. “A lot of them incorporated the sport in what they did, but they also had a lot of fun with it and kind of showed their personality more than you normally see during their games.

Although the event gave students the chance to express themselves through music and dance, the money they raised for the American Cancer Society was an important part of the event.

Jennifer Kulics, senior associate athletic director, said supporting the American Cancer Society came from the loss of two members of the athletic department.

“In 2005, we had two of our dear athletic department friends pass away from cancer in the same year — 48 and 25 they were,” she said. “So we’ve continued the American Cancer Society initiative, and we still remember them in this endeavor. It’s been very special to us.”

Contact Kelly Tunney at [email protected].