Sean Loughran

Cambridge Woods Teen Participates in Teen Adventure Challenge

Sean Loughran is a 17 year-old, life long resident of Cambridge Woods. He recently completed his junior year as an honor student at Riverside University High School. On June 2, Sean competed with three other Riverside students and a Riverside teacher in the Urban Ecology Center’s Teen Adventure Challenge. The orignal teacher involved had to withdraw the morning of the challenge due to an injury. A replacement teacher joined the team the morning of the Challenge. There were fifteen teams participating. The teams came from churches, schools and teen organizations. One team came from as far as Stevens Point.

The Teen Adventure Challenge is a team adventure race that explores the urban wilderness found along the Milwaukee River. The Challenge consists of five parts:

1. Orienteering: Each team receives a different set of instructions and uses a compass to locate specific points in the park.

2. Hike/Run: Teens run the trails along the Milwaukee River, stopping at a number of checkpoints where they solve riddles or engage in group challenges.

3. Climbing: Two team members scale a 40-foot climbing wall. At the top there is another riddle for them to solve.

4. Canoeing: Teens launch canoes at Estabrook Park and paddle to Riverside.

5. Biking: Teams bike from Riverside Park to Lincoln Park with one check-point along the way.

Sean is an elite team soccer player but he and his fellow team members found the Challenge to be physically grueling. This was especially true when all of Sean’s fellow team members found the difficult side of the rock wall too challenging to complete. Sean had to make a second climb to complete this part of the Challenge for the Riverside team. Scattered thunderstorms also made parts of the Challenge especially onerous!

The Riverside team finished in fourth place. There were prizes awarded to many of the teams. The many sponsors of the Challenge donated the prizes. Sean is already planning on participating in the 2008 Teen Adventure Challenge. He found the experience to be exhausting and exhilarating. He is staying in shape this summer by participating at a soccer camp at Washington University in St. Louis and by teaching soccer. This summer he is also a soccer instructor for MPS Recreation for classes of 3-5 years old and 6-8 year olds.