Meeting the Challenge
ZELIENOPLE — Payton McElravy left Zelienople Community Park with a well-deserved birthday gift Saturday afternoon.
One of 75 people who took part in the Ultimate Zelie Challenge, which turns the park's playground into an obstacle course, Payton received a trophy after placing first in her age group.
“I just wanted to have fun today,” said Payton, who turned 11 years old Saturday. “I thought I had a chance to do well, but didn't know I would win.”
Payton, who is in the fifth grade at St. Kilian Parish School in Cranberry Township, is very active. She competes in track, cross country, softball, volleyball and basketball.
“She's always been good at things like this,” her father, Mark McElravy, said. “She makes (scaling) a rock wall look so easy and I told her, 'You have to try this!'”
Participants took on the obstacle course in stages, with new challenges being added each time. Payton's total time was 3 minutes, 10.23 seconds.
This marked the seventh straight year that the park has hosted the event, which is designed as a ninja warrior-type competition.Zac Baker, a Harmony resident and recent North Catholic High School graduate, organized the first challenge when he was just 12 years old. He remains the biggest champion of the event.“Some people come back every year,” he said. “That's the biggest form of promotion we get, word of mouth.”Money received from registration fees has always been given to the park. To date, more than $15,000 has been raised.“I thought this would be something that people would be into every year,” Baker said, “but I didn't see it getting the backing from the community like it has.”Fifteen volunteers aided Baker with timing participants and making sure children remained safe while competing.The Ultimate Zelie Challenge received a bit of national notoriety recently. Jamie Rahn, known as “Captain NBC,” is a popular competitor on American Ninja Warrior, which is televised and watched by millions of people. He recently promoted the event in one of his tweets.
The Zelie Challenge is a way for Baker, who will be a freshman biology major at Queens University in Charolette, N.C., this fall, to pass on his passion of being active. He knows no other way to live his life. He began riding horses and competing in triathlons at a young age and recently closed a successful high school swimming career.“He's dedicated a lot of hours to this,” said Baker's mother, Joella, who founded and owns Get Fit Families, a company that promotes health and fitness. “It's become part of his life, and the park and community have embraced it.”The top three finishers in each age group received a trophy. Each competitor was given a medal.Ian Maloney, 10, from Cranberry Township, may become an annual participant here.“This was amazing,” he said. “It wasn't too hard, but pretty challenging.”
