The last light touch of lips on the forest green truck belonged to Matt Schwenn, Wednesday evening around 9:15 p.m.

“The whole time sitting there on the corner, I knew [the other contestant, Chris Sandmeier] wasn’t gonna make it,” Schwenn said.

The contest took a different turn around 4 p.m. Wednesday when the final three contestants had to use their own bodies for support instead of leaning or sitting on something.

A call was made to KCCQ for an update, and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon told the crowd, listeners and fatigued participants that a new rule was going to take place.

Contestant Heather Berg’s eyes widened as the announcement was made.

Three hours later, a decision was made to pull the contestant’s friends away from close proximity. Onlookers had to stand outside the tent and cheer.

People came from all directions to witness this event of stamina.

Around 5:15 p.m. the end came for Berg as she backed away from the truck. “I’m not tired or anything,” she said. “I just slid off.” Her team of support was busy picking up her belongings.

She walked away from the tent with the arm of her boyfriend wrapped around her waist. She was carrying a bottle with a yellow flower. Her lonposter was flailing in the wind with the words of support as she left.

Quilts, pillows, blankets and a bean bag were carried away while the two remaining contestants kept their eyes open.

The remaining contestants were given a break at 7 p.m. If the contest would have continued, it would have been their last for another 14 hours.

Time passed as onlookers kept walking by and peering over shoulders and looking with mouths open. One person said, “We want to see them collapse.”

Two women said they were looking at apartments and decided to come look.

“I think they’re completely nuts,” said sophomore Mike Sims. “It is for a brand-new truck, and it’s also for a good cause.”

Sandmeier continued to rub his hands and grasp the back of the truck. It was late into the evening. Darren Stevenson, coordinator of the event, told Sandmeier to keep his lips in the “proper puckering position.” The crowd began to yell.

As the competition between the two began to heat up, Sandmeier wrote a note to Schwenn: “Matt how much longer are going last? I swear I’ll quit as soon as you do. OK.”

A suggestion was made by a supporter of Sandmeier to take his hat off. He slowly removed his cap with his left hand and used his right hand to run his fingers through his hair. His hair stood up after his hands ran through.

His lips released their delicate grip from the truck at 9:15 p.m. Schwenn, the victor was elated and relieved that the contest was over.

“I’m done, and I ain’t kissin’ no more,” Schwenn said. Schwenn’s wife, who had been with him the whole 75 and one half hours, was crying over her husband’s victory. The mascara was streaked down her cheeks and her palms were pressed to her face with emotion.

Schwenn appeared to be surprisingly coherent considering the experiences of others.

Ann Grienke is one who has seen the rougher side of the “Kiss the Car” contest.

Monday, after 20 hours in the contest, Grienke’s lips slipped off the Chevy S-10 truck. The six capsules of Vivarin she had taken in 12 hours had not served their purpose; instead, she had to swallow charcoal and received intravenous feedings, in an effort to cleanse her body from all the caffeine she had ingested.

Even though Grienke said the truck-kissing experience had left her “feeling miserable.” She was upset that she wasn’t still out there.

“I’ve always wanted a Chevy S-10,” she said.

But Grienke, a junior in sociology, decided it wasn’t worth risking her health or even her life for. Still, she envied those persistent puckerers. “I had the motivation, but my body didn’t have the physical strength to keep up with it.”

Ben Bode was also one of the 29 losing contestants. In the last 3 hours of his 30 hour kissing vigil he became delirious, and he thought he was in a dancing contest rather than a kissing contestant. “I kept writing, ‘Keep dancing'” he said.

Dr. Robert Patterson, the director of the Student Health Center, said that sleep depravation “can be devastating.” He said he heard of one study, which showed after three days without sleep, a very high percentage of people became psychotic.

He said it can take awhile to recover from sleep deprivation, “It can’t be just a day.”

Although Stevenson said the last two contestants were healthier because they were staying awake through vitamins rather than caffeine, Patterson said, “There isn’t a healthy way to stay awake. People have to sleep to stay healthy.”

However, the members of the fraternity were obviously concerned about the health of the contestants, because in the final hours they began taking the blood pressures of the final two competitors. They also consulted with health officials and had a Emergency Medical Technician on call.

Patterson suggested that the contest was “somewhat ill advised. I understand why people do it, to get a car cheaply. It comes with a very significant price.”

Daily staff writers David Mosby, Jenny Hykes and Heather Wiese contributed to this story.