The cardboard sled teams from the Lincoln Park Parks and Recreation team (left) and the Lincoln Park High School Excel service club prepare for the Jan. 28 race during the Jack Frost Jamboree in Memorial Park near the Kennedy Memorial Building.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK – The snow was dry and not amenable to sledding Jan. 28, but that didn’t stop Team Lincoln Park Parks and Recreation and the Excel Club sled teams from having fun.
The event, which took place in Memorial Park during the Jack Frost Jamboree, was strictly for fun, with Parks and Recs crossing the finish line first in their cardboard sled and the LPHS Excel Club team coming in second.
The winning members of the Team Lincoln Park Parks and Recreation cardboard sled team were Ashley Halladay, Rilee Rautbort and Christian Moore.
The member of the LPHS Excel Club team were Presty Mouanda, Josselyn Castillo and Starlyn Wright.
Halladay, who was in the driver’s seat, said she wasn’t prepared for the weather race conditions.
“I wore my crocs today and my feet are very cold,” she said. “It was fun, though.”
Moore said they were not expecting their cardboard sled not to slide in the dry, powdery snow.
“All the snow was building in the front, so I had to lift it while (Rilee) pulled to get it to move,” he said.
The group was working together for the first time as a team.
Rautbort said she was worried that they were not going to be able to lift and move the cardboard sled.
“All that snow was just building up,” she said.
The Excel Club was good-natured about the experience and their second-place finish.
Mouanda said the dry, powdery snow piling up in front of their cardboard sled tended to block their forward progress.
“Josselyn was crushing part of the sled,” she said with a laugh.
The team spent about seven hours constructing and decorating their cardboard sled.
Mouanda said they had fun and had a teamwork vibe going for them.
“It was fun either way,” she said.