Ranger Challenge Team Finishes Fourth in National Contest

January 28, 2015

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The Georgia Southern University Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team participated in the 6th Brigade Army ROTC Ranger Challenge Competition held at Camp Blanding, Florida, Jan. 23-24 where they competed against 55 other teams from across the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. The Eagle Battalion placed fourth overall and won first in both the hand grenades and obstacle course events. The team also had top five finishes in the 4-mile road march, zodiac boat and overall time events. The team ran nearly 30 miles in the two-day competition while also participating in the marksmanship, triage, rope ridge and Commander’s Challenge events. The event stations are set up along a course and can be several miles apart, requiring the group to run the entire course from one event to another. "The Georgia Southern Ranger Challenge Team performed as expected. They maintained a high level of performance and ran the entire course on both days which covered close to 30 miles with their personally assigned equipment,” said team coach Master Sergeant Tim Parks. “The team placed fourth overall, and they are excited to begin training next semester for a competition that has been pulled back from January 2016 to October 2015. We are extremely proud of the effort they put into the past few months. There is no doubt in my mind that they will continue to perform to the highest standards and have the heart to win next year's competition." The Cadets began training in August with 5 a.m. workouts regardless of weather, in addition to weekend and evening training. Training activities included running with rucksacks, extreme endurance training, swimming and marksmanship. “Academics come first, but when they are not in class or studying, these Cadets are putting everything they have into this team. This competition is made to push them to their limits, both physically and mentally,” said Allison Rainey, senior administrative assistant for the Military Science Department. This year’s team members include: Charlie Witkowski (Captain), David Adler, Luc Aviles (Alternate), Thomas Bird, Benjamin Deen, Richard Fischl, Bradley Holmes, Hunter Scholle (Alternate), Michael Schuman, Ale Shortridge, Andy Zipp and Coach MSG Tim Parks. Georgia Southern won first place in the competition in 2013, and placed second in 2014 finishing behind Florida State University. The winning team from each brigade goes on to represent their brigade at the international Sandhurst Competition at the United States Military Academy at West Point. For more photos of the event, visit the Georgia Southern University Army ROTC Facebook page.