2022 Recap & Highlights

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A single point separated first and second place in a wild finish to the 2022 Ryan Petitte Adventure Challenge!!

​Twelve competitors toughed it out over two days, beginning Friday morning (Nov. 12) with two brand new events to the Challenge – an American Ninja Warrior-like Obstacle Course (stage winner Josh Robinson) and an Axe Throw (Tom Milder). The day got more even more challenging from there with the back-to-back combo of a Kayak race in Lake Mead (Graham Henshaw) and a Trail Run (Brian Compagnone) through White Owl Canyon. Competitors then battled into the dark (literally) to knock out the Field Goal (Jack Christensen) and Punt & Pass events (Jack Christensen). A quick shower and change and we were off to the Bowling stage (Bill Forster, Jr.) at South Point Casino.

Day two (Saturday, Nov. 13) started with the signature stage of the Challenge, a 7.2 mile scenic and rocky Mountain Bike race (Graham Henshaw) near Red Rocks that kicks off with a grueling incline before finishing with a series of thrilling drops and peaks. The Free Throw (Ben Milder), Discus (Kevin “Stretch” Forster) and Homerun Derby (Ben Milder) followed before the concluding individual stage of Football Accuracy (Brian Compagnone). When the dust had settled, Ben Milder edged out a hard-charging Graham Henshaw by a single point over twelve events. In the process, Graham captured the coveted Iron Man title with the top combined finishes across the kayak (first), trail run (second) and mountain bike (first) stages. There were eight different stage winners over twelve events, and strong showings by all.

The team event looked decidedly lopsided going into the final three events, with Team MGM (Graham, Ben Jones, Brian, Bill) running away with it – but the juggernaut that was Team Bellagio (Jack, Tom, Shannon, Kevin) swept the final four team events (Ping Pong, Billiards, Corn Hole, Anchor Man) to secure the title. Team Caesars (Josh, Steve, Tai, Ben M.) finished in the final third spot.

Apart from some minor scrapes and bruises – and the “PBJ incident” with a sliced hand with a butter knife – all competitors made it through relatively intact. No small feat all things considered. The weather was perfect, the scenery stunning – but by best of all was the company (led, as always, by Alan Petitte, who was on the shelf due to a knee injury). It also just felt great to be back after a year off due to the pandemic. We were missing a few stalwart competitors – and we’re eager to get them all back for our big 20th anniversary event next year!

Thanks to all of our family and friends for the consistently amazing support. Twenty years later, you’ve quite literally made this all possible – your support is the engine that makes it all go from the Challenge to the Scholarship. Cannot fully express what it means to all of us.

See you in 2023!

​2022 Final Standings

FULL RESULTS, INDIVIDUAL, TEAMS, STAGE-BY-STAGE | PHOTO ALBUM