UND Forever team pedals for good cause in United Way Trike Wars 2021

Third-annual United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area’s Trike Wars took place in Columbia Mall speedway (parking lot)

Twenty-three teams rolled onto the southwest parking lot of the Columbia Mall last week to determine the best three-wheel jockeys in all the land. Or maybe it was just for the the Red River Valley. Possibly just The Grand Cities.

But whatever the distinction — one fact was clear. It was all for good cause.

The third-annual United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area’s Trike Wars got under way just after 2 p.m. on Sept. 9, and the University of North Dakota was well represented in the relay-style tournament on wheels. An entry fee got you in the mix. After that, it was all about pedal power for each of the four-member teams.

UND’s three-wheeling quartet, known as “UND Forever” comprised Rob Carolin (captain), UND chief of staff; Kathy Armacost, UND first lady; Tamba-Kuii Bailey, newly established special assistant to the president on diversity & inclusion; and anchoring the squad was Meloney Linder; vice president for marketing & communications.

Multiple heats were used to winnow down the competition to the final four and then an ultimate Trike War champion.  Other pedal-pushing teams came from  Happy Harry’s Bottle Shops, Target, Grand Forks Ski & Bike Shop, Altru Health Foundation and the City of Grand Forks, which included Mayor and UND alum Brandon Bochenski. In the end, it was Mayor Bochenski’s crew that took the inside track and bested the field to be named Trike War champion for 2021.

UND, placed in a tough bracket, may not have been atop the leaderboard, but if style points were granted, the Fighting Hawks, er, I mean UND Forever would have left the competition in its dust.

“I am proud of our UND team and the effort put forth in this amazing event, said UND team captain Rob Carolin. “Although it wasn’t the result we were expecting, we worked together as a determined team with lots of UND Fighting Hawk spirit. We have already started to break down the film and have determined a secret location to begin our training to make a run at the title next year.

“On a more serious note, we all were pleased to be able to represent UND at this wonderful fundraising event to benefit the United Way. It was so much fun to be out there with our community partners in a light hearted competition to help out this great community.”