The Larzelere Hall council team heard the Homecoming medallion had been found at 10:40 p.m. on Thursday night and the room fell silent.

The atmosphere was intense. All were hoping that all the work they put in didn’t go to waste.

But at 10:51 p.m. their entire dorm was celebrating as they were the team to finally bring home with the medallion.

The clue Thursday night said “Even though he doesn’t have a building named after him, as the ones before him, he still has a special place on campus. It’s off the road less traveled and the light continues to shine on what you seek. When you view from above, your prize can be found on the President’s staff.”

Bay City junior Tiffany Kostus, left, Bay City junior Alecia Koczenasz, center, and Royal Oak senior Hallie Griffin use their phones to text friends for extra brainpower and check for Twitter updates in their search for the Medallion Wednesday night near Park Library. (Libby March/Staff Photographer)

“After the clue came out one of our ideas was to go to Abel Court,” Okemos junior Kevin Conlon said. “We looked at a map and realized Abel was a president that didn’t have a building named after him and he came after the other presidents that did.”

The president’s staff refers to Abel Court, which when viewed from above looks like a staff. Abel was CMU’s president in 1975. Abel Court is located off of Dennison Drive which is off of West Campus Drive. The team utilized Google Earth and campus maps to get a view from above that revealed the “presidents staff.”

“A lot of cars turned left onto Ellis Place so we thought we were going to the wrong place,” Conlon said. “We kept going and we realized that Abel was on our right so we turned onto that. We were the first ones there and I slammed on the breaks and we got out.”

After several minutes of wandering he stumbled upon a gray circle resembling the medallion featured in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” He immediately called his roommate and Larzelere co-coordinator Kyle Smith.

“There was all this sand there and I remembered all the sand from the movie and from the first clue,” Conlon said. “Kyle got there and I reached into the sand and it was maybe two inches down. I reached in and found something and it was the bag holding that holds the medallion. Then everyone went nuts.”

Conlon and Smith returned back to Larzelere to a group of chanting and clapping Larzy residents and an enormous celebration ensued.

“We found it,” Smith said. “It’s a thrilling relief. It validates all the work we put in. To be right there and to see it being pulled out was exhilarating.”

For Holland Freshman Christian Genesky the medallion hunt will be an experience he won’t soon forget.

“It was a blast,” Genesky said. “I didn’t think I’d be that into it until I sat down and found these people that were having so much fun with it and I just got addicted.”

He said that the medallion hunt taught him a lot about the history of CMU and gave him an opportunity to make new friends in the hall.

“The main hunters weren’t really people that I hang out with but the medallion hunt really brought me closer to them. It was really fun,” he said. “I will absolutely participate next year.”

After five days of searching the Larzelere Hall Council team has won the sixth annual Homecoming Medallion Hunt securing them 25 points in the Maroon Cup standings, a $200 pizza party, and a year’s worth of bragging rights.

E-mail the author: Luke Dimick