Raiders realize inconsistencies at Hart County Raider Challenge
On Sept. 21, Cedar Shoals’ Raider team competed in the Hart County Raider Challenge. The team competed in men’s, women’s and mixed team events. Cedar’s men’s team narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth out of 15 teams with a total of 21 points. While the team can take fourth place as a positive, they realize that consistency is key.
“We did very well on most events, but at the end we got lazy and it cost us. I was pleased for the most part up until the end of the meet,” senior and men’s team captain Willem Swindler said.
The mixed team finished ninth out of eleven teams with a total of 40 points, while the women finished fifth out of seven teams, beating out Central Gwinnett and Stephens County. While pleased with the results, Freshman Elaina Whitehead notes that both team and personal improvements are necessary.
“I wish we could have done better on rope bridge. (Personally), I’m gonna try to improve my running and my strength,” Whitehead said.
Every team started with a 2.7 mile run. The men’s and women’s teams came in fourth with times of 17:06 and 23:51 respectively, while the mixed team finished seventh with a time of 28:40. Following the run came the rope bridge, where teams tied a rope from one pole to another, clipped themselves to the rope and crawled backwards to the other side. The men came in fourth, the women came in fifth and the mixed team came in 10th in this event.
The obstacle course started in the woods, where the teams had to run in and through a creek, crawl under wire cables in the mud and swing on a rope over a pool of water. After a few other obstacles, the teams climbed over a wall, propelled by their teammates. The men had a podium finish in third place, the women came in fourth and the mixed team finished in seventh.
The tire flip is a short, relay-style race to see which team can flip a tire to the other side in the fastest time. Members of each team went one-at-a-time and when they could no longer flip the tire any further, they switched out with a teammate. The men once again finished third with a time of 3:52. The women placed fifth and the mixed team placed 11th.
In the last event, team chain, five people carry weights on their back and in their hands, working together through obstacles while carrying the weights. The men finished seventh in the team chain, while the female and mixed team both finished fifth.
