DALLAS, Pa. — The football field at Dallas High School was in full action, as student athletes came together for the D-Nation Challenge.
Dallas football coach Rich Mannello came up with this team building event to physically challenge his football players and get them to work together through a series of workouts.
"They've got a lot of body weight stuff, pushups, situps and medicine ball tosses, plate pushes. Some of them are more challenging. We've got it so that everybody can get through it," Mannello said.
This year, Coach Mannello opened the challenge to all of the school's teams, as well as raise money for student athlete scholarships and Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge.
Each team competing included a player from each sport. The fastest to work together and complete all the challenges won. Members of the girl's diving team decided to take part and after it was over said it was harder than they thought, but got a lot out of it.
"The comraderie between the football players who have been doing it for awhile and us who it's the first time doing it was great. They were willing to pick up things that we couldn't finish," said junior Peyton Stauffer.
"A lot of our school is divided by sport. One team is better than the other and it's kind of a mindset we have but I think it's good to bring everybody together and get us all on one page. We're one school and not separate sports," said junior Emma Miller.
Promoting school spirit and giving back to the community were big factors in this event, but so was including the next generation of Dallas athletes.
"I remember when I was their age and this is what I looked up to. Just to be a role model to them. Coach always says we try to be the best that we can," said junior Dylan Geskey.