Icy Lake Tahoe greats all jumping in for the Polar Plunge

LAKE TAHOE - It was March Madness on the South Shore today as about 200 people braved the frigid waters of Lake Tahoe, all in the spirit of raising money for Special Olympics.

The annual Polar Plunge was at Zephyr Cove Resort and the water was about 48 degrees when the crowds jumped in.

"Today's turnout was great!" said Harry Mong, Senior Director of Programs and Partnership for Special Olympics Northern Nevada. "$186,000 was raised and it goes to support our sports programs. There are 300 competitions in 11 different sports, and it is all free for the competitors."

They surpassed their goal of $150,000. The funds raised at Sunday's event will fund 740 athletes for one sports season.

Dreu Murin was MC of the event for the seventh year. He got the crowds excited as they prepared to jump into the lake. Murin said it has only snowed during two of those years. This year the sun was shining bright, even with a few feet of fresh snow around the lake.

El Dorado County Sheriff Sergeants Dan Johnson and Michael Seligsohn were also at Zephyr Cove and jumped into the lake to raise funds for Special Olympics once again. They had their families on the shore too cheer them on.

Thirteen other Polar Plunges in Nevada and Northern California this winter: Mesquite, Lake County, Lake Tulloch, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Siskiyou County, Tulare, Ukiah, Elko, Fort Bragg, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Sonoma County.

MontBleu held an after party with food and awards for the contests held Sunday, including Best Costume, Best Lephrechaun Costume, Most Unique Use of Green. The event theme this year was St. Patrick's Day.