While waiting to see if Theo Epstein pulls the trigger and trades Jonathan Papelbon …

Nick Rapolla wanted some company when he competed in last Saturday’s Urban Epic Challenge, a 4.5-mile race along Portland’s Eastern Promenade with 17 obstacles to overcome. He asked his little sister to tag along.

Mia Rapolla was the first female to finish. Her brother didn’t do quite so well.

“I was shocked, honestly,” said Mia Rapolla, just 18 and a 2011 graduate of Gorham High. “After it was over, I checked the results they posted and saw my name on the top of the list and said, ‘what, are you kidding me? I didn’t train for this.’“

She’s still laughing. More people should do things just for the fun of it.

Understand that Rapolla was the Maine Sunday Telegram/Portland Press Herald female athlete of the year for 2011. She was an exceptional cross country runner, although she couldn’t catch three-time state champ Abbey Leonardi of Kennebunk and Emily Durgin of Cheverus. She played point guard and led Gorham into the Western Class A tournament. She was the state’s dominant lacrosse player.

So intense in competition, but so the girl next door when away from playing fields.

“Carrying sandbags up a steep hill was one of the toughest things,” Rapolla said Tuesday night. “The fitness station where you had to do a bear crawl and then a backward bear crawl was hard, too.

“You’d come up to an obstacle and say, are you kidding me? I kept thinking, OK, you can walk now.”

But she couldn’t. The more obstacles she overcame, the more fun she had.

“After a while, I thought I might as well try to win this thing, but I had no idea I would.”

Ask her if this validated her athlete of the year recognition and she laughs again. The Urban Epic Challenge was not part of any plan. She heads to the University of Massachusetts and will continue her lacrosse career there. She wouldn’t mind entering another challenge race …

Bob McPhee returned last month from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with a lifetime of memories and a damaged wheelchair the airlines initially lost.

“After getting up at 2 a.m. (in Stillwater, Okla.), it was disheartening to arrive in Portland at 5 p.m. only to be told my wheelchair had been left in Chicago and our luggage was flown to Snookyville, N.J.,” wrote McPhee in an email.

McPhee, you may remember, lost his ability to walk and talk after a brain stem injury suffered while playing football for Rumford High more than 35 years ago. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame presented him its Medal of Courage at a black-tie dinner. Also a high school wrestler, McPhee was joined by a class of inductees that included Cael Sanderson, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist.

At the dinner, the lights went out for a five-minute video highlighting McPhee’s life and his adventures after the injury.

“When the lights came back on, everyone was on their feet applauding and wiping tears from their eyes,” said Jerry Perkins, the former Rumford football and wrestling coach.

“Bob just stared ahead but I could tell he was stoked. I still get emotional.”

At the dinner, McPhee used a computer that speaks for him. “I spoke to the crowd that I’m no different than anyone else, simply living life. People have said they don’t believe they could have gone on if faced with a similar situation. I disagree, because human beings are capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. But remember to look around because there’s always someone worse off.”

A day after returning to Maine, McPhee covered a high school softball playoff game, using a different wheelchair.

After his injury, McPhee graduated from the University of Maine. He is not in the university’s Sports Hall of Fame. He more than represents its ideals.

Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at: ssolloway@pressherald.com

Twitter: SteveSolloway