OHIO students race to the finish line in 'Amazing Race' event

The Walter Center for Strategic Leadership hosted its Third Annual Leader Games Challenge on Feb. 13, transforming part of Ohio University into an action-packed competition inspired by “The Amazing Race.”

This year’s theme brought high energy, teamwork and friendly rivalry, as 20 teams of three students signed up to compete in one of the Center’s most-anticipated signature events. 

Contestants arrived in matching “The Amazing Race” t-shirts, instantly creating a sense of unity and excitement in the Walter Hall Rotunda. Each team sported a different color bandana, making it easy to spot competitors as they raced across campus and completed challenges. The atmosphere was electric from the start. 

Despite the chilly February weather outside, the sunshine-filled Rotunda buzzed with anticipation as students prepared to test both their physical endurance and mental agility. The course featured six challenges, complete with detours and roadblocks, closely modeled on the structure of “The Amazing Race.” Teams had to strategize, communicate effectively and adapt quickly under pressure. 

Challenges ranged from a campus-wide scavenger hunt to hitting a wall of stacked blocks with a fake snowball while blindfolded — requiring trust, precision and clear communication. Each station was intentionally designed to highlight different leadership competencies, including problem-solving, resilience, collaboration and strategic thinking. 

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After completing all six challenges at locations across campus, teams sprinted back to the Walter Rotunda for the final stretch. The top three teams were awarded cash prizes deposited directly into their Bobcat Cash accounts. 

Taking first place was team The Architect Angels, composed of sophomore interior architecture majors Morgan Elliott, Carolyn Bromley and Carsen Morin. Finishing in second was The Wandellows, featuring Eric Fox, Xavier Goss and Helena Tainer. Third place went to Chat GBT, with team members Noah Minor, Wade WonHandorf and Larry West. 

This year’s Leader Games Challenge showcased impressive campus-wide participation, with students representing seven different colleges. Three teams were also comprised of members of the Division I Men’s Hockey Team, adding another competitive edge to the race. The diversity of participants made the event especially dynamic, as students from across campus came together to test their leadership, teamwork and communication skills on a cold Friday in February. 

The annual Leader Games Challenge once again delivered an unforgettable experience — blending competition, camaraderie, and leadership development in a way only the Walter Center can.

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The Architect Angels, this year’s winning team, from the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts, shared that their victory was anything but expected.

Elliott, who is a sophomore, explained that she had recently joined the Strategic Leadership Certificate program and that her professor, Dr. Kim Jordan, encouraged her to participate in a leadership experience.

After reaching out to classmates, the team quickly came together. The trio admitted they entered the competition simply hoping to challenge themselves — winning never crossed their minds. 

Bromley shared that her team’s greatest strength stemmed from their natural cohesiveness. 

“I feel like since we’re all in the same major, we kind of have the same brain,” she said. “We know how to communicate.” 

Morin added that beyond the competition itself, the experience created meaningful bonding among the three teammates. 

“We weren’t that close before we just kind of did it,” she said. “I think it made us closer.” 

All three agreed they want to take part in the Leader Games Challenge again next year if given the opportunity. 

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Second-place finisher Goss, a sophomore studying business administration with concentrations in business analytics and strategic leadership, said he was initially encouraged to join the race by his fellow Wandell Fellows members. 

He shared that one of his biggest takeaways was the importance of staying open-minded to new opportunities and fully immersing yourself in the experiences that come your way. 

“Just maintaining an open mindset and being willing to do things that might at first seem a little uncomfortable,” he said. “It was a great day. It was a lot of fun.” 

Having come in second, Goss was very proud of his team's accomplishments. He said that if they had taken a few extra seconds to walk through their plan at the start of every challenge, they might have won the gold. 

Overall, Goss said he really enjoyed taking part in the Leader Games and was able to apply things he learned in other classes and student organizations to this challenge. 

“I think it was a good exercise of the things that I’ve been learning in Wandell and in my classes this semester regarding communication and leadership under pressure as well as delegation,” he said. “I think it was a good display of that in a really fun environment.” 

Third-place winner Minor, a junior studying accounting and finance, said he has been a fan of “The Amazing Race” for a long time. He said one of his biggest dreams in life was to be a part of the actual show, but that this was a good compromise. 

He said the hardest part of all the challenges was giving up leadership control to his teammates throughout the race. The challenges force participants to delegate tasks and build trust with their team members. 

“I think it’s tough, especially if you have a kind of leadership or type of mentality to relinquish some of that control because you want to win pretty badly,” he said. “Sometimes this can be a little scary to put trust in somebody else, but that was a good lesson for me to be like ‘I’m not going to be the best at everything.’” 

Minor said the most challenging part of the race was the first section, where participants were asked to unscramble a three-word phrase. Being the first challenge, he said the nerves were especially high, which made this a little more complicated. 

“That ended up being the toughest challenge for us,” he said. “We were just so preoccupied with having to be so fast because it is a race. We didn’t really take our time and try to be methodical and figure out the phrase.” 

Overall, Minor really enjoyed his experience with the Leader Games and hopes similar events will continue to happen in the future. 

“We met some students (from other majors),” he said. “It was something fun and unique to do on a Friday.”