31 take the polar plunge for Marian

Mind over matter. It means using willpower to overcome physical obstacles, and it’s a phrase a handful of brave souls put into practice last weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, Marian Catholic High School put on the sixth annual “Be Cool for our School” Polar Plunge. Students, parents and other school supporters gathered at Mauch Chunk Lake in Jim Thorpe, some plunging into the frigid lake and others cheering on their peers.

Plunge Coordinator Kathy Goff, who previously served as the president of the Home and School Association at St. Joseph Regional Academy, brought the event from St. Joe’s over to Marian after the academy closed last year.

It was the sixth year that Goff coordinated the event, but the first with Marian as its host.

“After they closed, I really, really hated to see Polar Plunge go away, because it’s like my baby,” Goff said. “I’ve been doing this for five years now, and I just didn’t want it to go away.”

Participants paid a $35 registration fee to take the dive as a “plunger,” or to show their support from the beach as a “chicken.” The proceeds raised go to the Men of Marian, an organization dedicated to funding programs at the high school.

Everyone who registered received a commemorative T-shirt, which listed the event’s sponsors, like House of Jerky in Jim Thorpe, Dolon-Jones-Martino Post 304 in Jim Thorpe, Lentz-Koma Insurance Agency and Jim Thorpe Dental Associates.

Firefighters from Jim Thorpe Fire Department paved a way through the ice, making space for those willing to face the lake. An ambulance from St. Luke’s Miners Campus stood by in case of emergencies.

On Saturday, there were 31 plungers and 16 chickens.

“I thought it was exciting when Kathy Goff came forward and said that she’d like to have the Men of Marian and Marian Catholic High School community continue this tradition,” high school Principal Jean Susko said. “We thought it was a great idea.”

Susko wasn’t able to plunge on Saturday, but she still found a way to represent the school, donning a bright blue Colts get-up, which is Marian’s mascot.

“They were asking people to do the mascot, and then we were trying to get students, and nobody came forward,” she said. “And the fact that I can’t plunge, I thought ‘you know what, I’m going to do it.’”

Besides being Goff’s passion project, the plunge is a favorite amid its participants as well.

“There are just people who just — they love it,” Goff said. “I don’t know why they do, but we have people who have done it every single year for five years.”

“You know how when you get a tattoo, people say you can’t stop? I think it’s kind of like that with polar plunging. Once you do it, you can’t stop.”

If you’re not convinced that is true, take Ethan Hinkle, for example.

Hinkle, 21, of Palmerton, isn’t a Marian Catholic High School graduate. In fact, before hearing about the event, he knew nothing about the school.

But he knew about the polar plunge, and because he had taken part in one in Weatherly, he knew he loved the rush that comes from leaping into freezing waters.

“I wanted to participate last year, but with my job I wasn’t able to make it to Jim Thorpe,” Hinkle said. “I knew it was coming up eventually, I just was waiting.”

Promoting the school, Hinkle pointed out, is an added bonus.

“I’m happy to just support,” he said. “If someone needs support, I’m happy to give it.”

Mary Matunis, who teaches freshman and senior theology at Marian, came prepared in an Eeyore onesie and a snorkel for her plunge.

“I figured it’s a new fundraiser for the school, and I’m a teacher and I got to support the things that the school does,” Matunis said. “And guess what? You gotta have fun.

“I loved having fun with the kids,” she added.

Two Marian seniors, Kate Spillman, 18, and Antonina Zeleniak, 17, who are both on the volleyball team, tossed a ball back and forth before being immersed.

After their plunge, Spillman said the water was “Terrible. It was so cold.”

“We’re glad we did it though,” Zeleniak said on her co-plunger’s tail.