UD students win tickets to Australia from Ellen

Four juniors at the University of Dayton will be taking a trip down under thanks to “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

Degeneres' producers came to town Thursday to "hide" two tickets to Australia. Clues were sent online via @TheEllenShow on twitter to help viewers find them.

The men who won said there is no way they’re splitting up — the other two will buy tickets and also go.

“We went out at 1 a.m. to go look around and get better acquainted with the city,” said Bryan Demyan, 21, who is from Pittsburgh, Pa. They went out again around 11 a.m. as they waited on the clues to be issued.

"The web cam gave it away," said John Thompson, 21, also from Pittsburgh. The tickets were hidden in the parking lot of the Dayton Marriott, 1414 S Patterson Blvd.

The segment of the winners collecting their tickets from the Ellen staff in Dayton could possibly air on the upcoming Monday show.

Tim Carroll, 21, of Chicago and Nate Hauge, 21, of Columbus are the other two men planning to take the trip. The four are roommates at UD.

They said they recognized the location and drove there, but got out of their car about 500 yards away and sprinted, hollering the entire way.

>>See the video of their win here<<

“We wouldn’t have made it if we hadn’t run,” Demyan said.

The four have not decided when they will take a trip to Australia but said they have a window of time for which they can use the tickets.

When it is summertime in the United States, it is winter in Australia. That may factor in to when they go, they said.

The tickets are provided by Swisse, an Australian wellness company. The airline is Qantas.

Degeneres will be filming her show in Australia sometime this month.

The show is still giving tickets away online at www.ellentv.com/page/2013/01/09/swisse.

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