Loyola/Towson ROTC Ranger Challenge Team takes second place at Ft. Bragg,N.C. competition
Cody Inman
Issue date: 11/10/09 Section: News
The Loyola/Towson ROTC Ranger Challenge Team traveled to Ft. Bragg, N.C. from Oct. 22-26, 2009 to compete against the 38 other teams in the 4th Brigade.
The team consists of 11 members from both organizations. Representing Loyola were Cadets Christel Sacco, Meghan Clark, Joanna Pultro, Ben Goeller, and Nolan Dunn. Cadets Cody Inman (Team Captain), Matthew Miller, Chris McIntire, Neal Murray, Henry Hensley, and Brent Zimmerman represented Towson University.
The team finished second of 19 in their division, edged out only by the University of Maryland, College Park, and seventh of the total 39 teams competing.
The competition is composed of eight events to test the physical, mental, technical and tactical proficiency of the nine competing cadets.
Events included an Army Physical Fitness Test, day and night time land navigation, one-rope bridge construction and crossing, basic rifle marksmanship, a hand grenade assault course, a written land navigation exam, and finally, a ten kilometer weighted ruck march. The team placed third in the APFT, first in the rope bridge, third in the written land nav exam, and second in the 10 kilometer ruck march.
"Training and competing is different every year; but this was a completely different location with new events that we had never attempted before, and so many other schools… it was intense, and more mentally challenging than anything," Christel Sacco said. She is one of three females to train with the team, and a three-year veteran of the competition, which is traditionally dominated by male cadets.
The team traveled to Ft. Bragg on Thursday and competition began on Friday morning. The first event was the APFT, in which cadets are tested on their muscular endurance by a measure of how many push-ups and sit-ups can be correctly performed in a two-minute period, followed by a timed two-mile run. The team average in this event was 304, exceeding the 300-point maximum.
Day and night time land navigation were the second and third events. The team was broken into two to three person groups with the captain working alone during the day. The groups were sent into the woods with no more than maps and compasses, and forced to utilize skills learned in their training to locate designated points with little room for error.
The team consists of 11 members from both organizations. Representing Loyola were Cadets Christel Sacco, Meghan Clark, Joanna Pultro, Ben Goeller, and Nolan Dunn. Cadets Cody Inman (Team Captain), Matthew Miller, Chris McIntire, Neal Murray, Henry Hensley, and Brent Zimmerman represented Towson University.
The team finished second of 19 in their division, edged out only by the University of Maryland, College Park, and seventh of the total 39 teams competing.
The competition is composed of eight events to test the physical, mental, technical and tactical proficiency of the nine competing cadets.
Events included an Army Physical Fitness Test, day and night time land navigation, one-rope bridge construction and crossing, basic rifle marksmanship, a hand grenade assault course, a written land navigation exam, and finally, a ten kilometer weighted ruck march. The team placed third in the APFT, first in the rope bridge, third in the written land nav exam, and second in the 10 kilometer ruck march.
"Training and competing is different every year; but this was a completely different location with new events that we had never attempted before, and so many other schools… it was intense, and more mentally challenging than anything," Christel Sacco said. She is one of three females to train with the team, and a three-year veteran of the competition, which is traditionally dominated by male cadets.
The team traveled to Ft. Bragg on Thursday and competition began on Friday morning. The first event was the APFT, in which cadets are tested on their muscular endurance by a measure of how many push-ups and sit-ups can be correctly performed in a two-minute period, followed by a timed two-mile run. The team average in this event was 304, exceeding the 300-point maximum.
Day and night time land navigation were the second and third events. The team was broken into two to three person groups with the captain working alone during the day. The groups were sent into the woods with no more than maps and compasses, and forced to utilize skills learned in their training to locate designated points with little room for error.
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Pat Sacco
posted 11/10/09 @ 2:18 PM EST
Well done and glad to see that you are getting some good media coverage. We are very proud of you. Congratulations Cadets! Joe & Patty Sacco
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