Four first place streamers, along with a second and a third place trophy are now among the accomplishments of Sam Houston State University’s Army ROTC, following their participation in this fall’s co-ed Ranger Challenge 2008, held on Oct. 17-19.
It is known as the Varsity sport of ROTC.
“The Ranger Challenge is an annual competition that challenges the physical fitness, mental toughness, and military skills among university Army ROTC cadets,” Monica Lim said.
It consists of seven events: Night/Day Land Navigation, First Aid, patrolling, weapons assembly, hand grenade assault course and a 10K road march (full gear: ruck sack, LBE, weapon).
“The competition takes place in the fall and all cadets in good academic standing are invited to take part,” Lim said.
Cadets have been training since the beginning of the fall semester meeting in the mornings from 5:45 a.m.-7 a.m. for physical training and training in the evening from 2 p.m.-5 a.m. during the week, dedicating close to 20 hours a week for Ranger Challenge on top of academics.
“These cadets, along with other cadets in the program, have bright futures ahead of them and [are] soon tocommission as second lieutenants in the United States Army,” Lim said.
Universities such as: Texas A&M, A&M Prairie View, Texas Christian University, Texas State, A&M Corpus Christi, A&M Kingsville, A&M Palo Alto, University of Texas, Stephen F. Austin, St. Mary’s University, and University of Texas San Antonio were among the competition.
The Co-ed Ranger Challenge team including Jimmy Decell, Andrew Enriquez, AJ Harms, Wayne Salazar, Janie Salazar, Christina Escobedo, Joan Kim, and Carolyn Tatum, won first place streamers in both the Hand Grenade Assault Course (HGAC) and Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) with an astonishing score of 315, placing second in the overall competition.
The all-male team consisting of Patrick Nguyen, Arthur Tovar, Bobby Stoermer, John Girton, Levi Cryer, Payden Collins, and Quintin Sipp won first place streamers in Night/Land Navigation and HGAC, placing third place in the overall competition.
“This year’s training has been the most intense we’ve ever been through and placing third is proof of that. All we need to do is fine tune some of our training for next year, and we can bring home an even better victory,”Patrick Nguyen said.