By Karen Gavis/se news editor
The first intramural sports event of the semester on SE Campus featured 37 students competing in a fitness obstacle course.
Among the 26 men and 11 women competing, Tyler Callihan won first place with a time of 1:56 in the male division, and Kristina Kavonian edged out the competition for first place among females with a time of 2:42. Both contestants won watches and a bag.
Participants sopped water, ran to fill a cup, jumped hurdles, lifted weight balls, dragged tires, maneuvered ladders, did pushups, trampolined and crawled or dove under a net in the sand, among other things.
The first two runners in the event were men, and one of them ran shoeless. The two were neck and neck at the tire drag, and then two women began.
“Go! Go! GO!” HPE instructor Traci Stonum yelled through her bullhorn during the event. “Good job guys, keep it going.”
After finishing the course, Callihan was bent, red-faced and breathing heavily.
“I was dragging, and my legs felt floppy,” he said. “I felt like my eyes were crossed.”
Kavonian said the course was challenging. She works out daily and was tired for a few minutes afterward, she said.
SE student Arthur Foley was standing nearby when Callihan finished.
“I don’t know how you did that,” he told Callihan. ”I knew you were quick, but I didn’t know you were that quick.”
Foley said he was the best out of all the athletes present and was concerned if he would look good for the photos.
“You’ve got two seconds left. Go faster!” he shouted to the next runner.
Two late arrivals showed up and prepared to run.
“You had a whole smoothie, a chicken Caesar salad and a root beer?” one student asked another.
“Yeah, just waiting for that pro contract,” said another.
Stonum said the event usually attracts 30-40 students.
“The most we’ve ever had was 60,” she said.
Stonum said they changed the course a little this year by adding water buckets and making it so runners would have to crawl under a net in the end instead of just running through the sand.
“They are usually tired by the end,” she said.
SE student Quinn Floyd runs track and plays football. He said the course was challenging and competitive.
“It’s not hard at first, until you get halfway,” he said.
Beforehand, students signed mandatory waivers and stretched. SE student Ulises Garcia said he ran the course before and signed up because he liked working out and was hoping to get first place.
Another SE student, Harold Brown, said he did not do well on his last PE test and was there trying to earn extra credit.
He did say, though, it was a nice day for some exercise.
