Iowa State’s own aspiring comedians performed on the Maintenance Shop stage Thursday night. Each act had five minutes to make the audience laugh. The host, professional stand up comedian Pete Lee, brought the house down as well.

For those who braved the bitter cold, the first ever Student Union Board Stand Up Comedy Contest at Iowa State was a night full of laughs from both students and the host of the event. The audience got a wide range of comedy styles, and some worked better than others. Someone had to win.

The night started off with a few minutes of Pete Lee humor. His jokes about the Midwest were hilarious and relatable, pointing out we have accents even though we never think we do. He gave the audience a new meaning to Pringles potato chips.

The contestants came out swinging. Quinn Sturm, a senior in computer science, gave his rendition of jumping into a pile of leaves. Nolan Velazquez, freshman in food science, permanently seared the image of a large high schooler wearing a rainbow Speedo into the audience’s brains.

The night never slowed down. Lee kept the audience laughing between each performer with his adventures in dating apps and his two very different neighborhoods.

Senior in mechanical engineering, Colin Morabito performed a very visual comedy set, teaching the audience it’s a good thing we learned how to cut an umbilical cord. Vasishta Srirama, sophomore in MIS, was next to make the audience roll with laughter.

Brandon Thomas and Nicholas Demaree took the stage, joking how you can’t win “Jeopardy” without vowels. Alexander Taubin was stone faced as his jokes rolled off the tongue. Shane McDonald does, in fact, have a farm, and he does also hate his name. Caden Washburn closed out the night of contestants.

Lee entertained the audience as the ballets were collected from the audience. Demaree took home third place and Strum second place. Finally, Taubin took home first, and an opener slot for one of SUB’s upcoming Stand Up Comedy Nights. Srirama took home the audience’s choice award. Now these young comedians begin their wait for the next Stand Up Comedy Contest at Iowa State.