Clad only in shorts, socks and running shoes, residents of Birch-Welch-Roberts left little to the imagination Thursday afternoon when they braved biting-cold 24-degree temperatures to compete in the annual Polar Bear Run.

Seven teams from various BWR houses and one team made up of BWR staff raced in a relay that was part of the BWR Challenge, an ongoing contest among the eleven houses of Birch-Welch-Roberts.

All teams received points for participating, but the team made up of the Birch-Welch-Roberts staff claimed victory after Sean Godinez seized the lead during the third leg of the race.

“We were very confident of winning from the beginning,” said Godinez, junior in computer engineering and the resident assistant of Lange Hall. “It took mental preparation.”

The winning team sprinted a victory lap around the courtyard after clinching the win.

“Teamwork!” said Bryan Steussy, junior in biochemistry and resident assistant of Stevenson Hall. “Teamwork was the key . . . and strategy.”

Different houses of Birch-Welch-Roberts take turns hosting events for the BWR Challenge. At the end of the semester, the team with the most points will win a cash prize.

“It’s kind of like a building-wide crazy Olympics,” said John Faughn, hall director of Birch-Welch-Roberts. “A lot of [the events] have been a little off the wall.”

A mattress race, tug-of-war and pie eating contest have also been events in the BWR Challenge, he said.

Faughn said he would like as many residents as possible to participate in events such as the Polar Bear Run, which was the first BWR Challenge competition of the semester.

“Our ideal is that every house will have a team,” he said. “The more participation, the better.”