{"id":26600,"date":"2018-11-21T09:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T15:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=26600"},"modified":"2018-11-21T03:38:03","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T09:38:03","slug":"apsu-rotc-cadets-finish-second-at-bold-warrior-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2018\/11\/21\/apsu-rotc-cadets-finish-second-at-bold-warrior-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"APSU ROTC cadets finish second at Bold Warrior Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Austin Peay State University (APSU)<\/h2>\n

\"AustinClarksville,TN<\/strong> – Austin Peay State University (APSU) Governor\u2019s Guard ROTC cadets continue to show why they\u2019re among the best in the nation.<\/p>\n

Their latest achievement \u2013 finishing runner-up in the 7th<\/sup> Brigade ROTC Bold Warrior Challenge November 2nd-4th, 2018 at Fort Knox, Kentucky \u2013 strengthens the battalion\u2019s claim to an eighth General Douglas MacArthur Award, which goes to the eight top-performing ROTC units in U.S. Army Cadet Command.<\/p>\n

\"Standing<\/a>

Standing from the left are Paul Kearney, Braydon Donnell, Alden Marvin, Thomas Rose, Steven Price, coach Keith Colman, Jasmine Barrios, Kylie Head, Brendan Hagens; kneeling from the left are Daniel Cole, Wesley Gray and Thomas Porter.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

The Bold Warrior is a grueling, two-day challenge that pushes cadets during six straight hours of competition the first day and 16 hours the second day. Cadets covered about 40 miles of terrain during the two days, much of the time carrying ruck sacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole point was to challenge everybody both mentally and physically, so everywhere they went they had to solve a problem,\u201d Lt. Col. Eric Westphal, APSU professor of military science, said. \u201cThey had to have a plan; otherwise, they wouldn\u2019t be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Austin Peay succeeded, competing against 17 teams and beating such universities as Michigan State, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. All the teams in Bold Warrior had advanced from a preliminary round that included cadets from 109 schools.<\/p>\n

Meet The Bold Warrior<\/h3>\n
\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University ROTC cadets march during the Bold Warrior Challenge earlier this month at Fort Knox, KY. The team finished second.<\/p><\/div>\n

Cadets faced dozens of challenges during the two days, earning points along the way.<\/p>\n

Friday night\u2019s competition kept cadets at the barracks complex and challenged them with a series of physical and mental tasks, including climbing a 15-meter rope and navigating monkey bars as many times as possible in 10 minutes. Austin Peay finished the night in fifth place.<\/p>\n

[320left]The next morning took the 11-member teams into the field from 6 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The day started with a 3.2-mile march to Fort Knox\u2019s training area, where the cadets faced 15 challenges, or stations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey drop you off in the middle of the training area at Fort Knox and tell you \u2018stay on this road until someone stops you,\u201d APSU cadet and assistant team captain Daniel Cole said. Each stop represented a challenge in the competition. \u201c\u2018Amazing Race\u2019-style, we had to pick how we\u2019d attack each challenge with the end state being getting as many done as you could.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conquering Pont Du Hoc
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"A<\/a>

A cadet completes the one-rope bridge at the competition. The one-rope bridge was one of the few challenges teams knew about ahead of the competition.<\/p><\/div>\n

The most difficult of the challenges, \u201cPont du Hoc,\u201d came in the afternoon, said Cole, a former sergeant first class and participant in the Army\u2019s Green to Gold program at Austin Peay.<\/p>\n

APSU team coach and retired Master Sgt. Keith Colman described Pont du Hoc this way: \u201cThey had to go down almost a cliff probably 250 meters, and then they had to climb back up. There were parts of it when they were on all fours, holding on to the rope, climbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce everybody was on top, one person had to touch a placard hanging in a tree.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cadets didn\u2019t find a solution at first.<\/p>\n

[320right]\u201cIt was the first time I saw the team struggle for a second,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n

Cadet Kylie Head noted she had experienced a similar challenge while cheerleading.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, they made a human pyramid and threw her up there to hit the sign,\u201d Colman said.<\/p>\n

Austin Peay was one of only four teams to finish all the challenges.<\/p>\n

Excelling At The Commander’s Challenge<\/h3>\n
\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University ROTC cadets march during the Bold Warrior Challenge earlier this month at Fort Knox, KY.<\/p><\/div>\n

After the Day 2 stations, cadets faced a 4.5-mile march over rough terrain. This was more than 12 hours into the day. APSU cadet Wesley Gray finished first and cadet Thomas Porter finished third.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just breaking people, they were hurting,\u201d Westphal said.<\/p>\n

The day wrapped up with the Commander\u2019s Challenge, a CrossFit challenge known as a \u201cMurph.\u201d Cadets had run a 1.25-mile relay, do 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 squats then run the relay again. The Murph happened at the end of 16 hours of competition.<\/p>\n

By the end of the day, Austin Peay moved from fifth to second place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were amazing,\u201d Westphal said.<\/p>\n

The Secret To Austin Peay State University Success<\/h3>\n
\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University ROTC cadets tackle one of the challenges during the competition.<\/p><\/div>\n

Several factors and strategies helped set Austin Peay apart:<\/strong><\/p>\n