![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
![All smiles. The group poses for a photo with last year’s book, “This is Our House,” along with their award for third Best in Show. Meikle, who was an Editor-in-Chief for the yearbook last year as well, holds both and stands at the center of the group. “That was an amazing feeling, going and grabbing the third place award,” Meikle said. “All of it paid off. I cried so much over that book, being able to receive [the award] was one of the highlights of my high school career, it was like the coolest thing ever.”](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/8bookpose_philly-1200x800.jpg)
The Amazing Race is an event that involves multiple pairs of seniors competing in a variety of challenges to win $1000 for the charity of their choice. This year’s winners were Janina Kraetschmer and Ryan Vandenbrink for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
“My family has a history [with] it so just being able to raise money for them was a big contributing factor for me, just being super motivated to do that and help contribute to something I have a history in,” Vandenbrink said.
Despite the race being for fun and entertainment, the competitions take place outside of school hours and require time and effort from the participants.
“It just doesn’t feel real to me,” Kraetschmer said. “It was two weeks of so much going on and so much pressure.”
The Amazing Race took place over several weeks, and each week came with new challenges, based on the theme of video games. Some days included challenges like mini golf, word searches, and an obstacle course.
“There are 2 hour challenges where you get an envelope with hints in them [and] they lead you to different locations where you have to do certain challenges,” Kraetschmer said. “Usually every single round there’s people that get eliminated.”
One aspect of being successful is who you have on your team.
“You have to have a really diverse skill set in a race like this,” Vanderbrink said. “Me and Janina mesh really well when it comes to that, because we have very different skill sets, so we cover a lot of the different bases you have to have [to win] the game.”
Aside from being a charity event, the Amazing Race is also a broadcasted event shown by ASB on the Live Roar each week. It has become a way for students to feel community with each other.
“Being out here with friends, being able to enjoy the experience, getting to meet new people and getting closer to people was very fun.”
For more information, listen to one of West Linn Weekly Wakeup’s newest episodes, hosted by Preston Weller, Arts and Entertainment Editor, Finn Howell, Coverage Editor, and Garrett Arendt, Student Life Editor.
