By Abigail Rich
“Excruciatingly wonderful.”
Those are the words Cadet Vernon Wall used to describe his first experience in the Army ROTC”s Ranger Challenge competition.
Wall, a senior who is currently enrolled in 21 credits and works a part-time job, said the Ranger Challenge-the Army ROTC”s varsity sport-is something he does on the side.
Since the beginning of the semester, the team has been practicing Monday through Saturday every week. They work out five days a week from 5:30 to 7 a.m. and practice different military skills on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons.
“It”s a big commitment,” said Cadet Doug Mills, Ranger Challenge captain. “Every day you”re sore, you”re tired.”
The annual competition, which happened this year on Oct. 24 and 25, takes place between 10 teams that come from six Utah schools-BYU, Utah State, University of Utah, Utah Valley University, Weber State and Southern Utah University-and includes eight events.
Each school can bring teams for any of three categories: all-male, all-female or co-ed. This year, BYU brought one all-male team and two co-ed teams of four men and two women each. Utah Valley University and the University of Utah each brought an all-female team.
Cadet Kristen Heuer, one of the females on a co-ed team, said, “Being the only females, it”s a little intimidating at first. Once you get to know them though, it”s awesome. I wouldn”t have it any other way.”
On Friday the 24th there was a physical fitness test that assessed how many sit-ups participants could complete in two minutes, how many push-ups they could complete in two minutes and how fast they could run two miles.
There was also a written test on patrolling, first aid and land navigation, and a night land navigation during which participants were required to find certain points throughout the woods at night, using only a red lens flashlight to quickly examine the map. They had an hour to find the points, which were up to a mile and a half away.
Saturday the 25th there was a day land navigation course, a grenade assault course, a first aid course and a course where cadets assembled and disassembled an M-16, the main rifle of the army, as fast as they can. The final event was a 10-kilometer equipment run, called a ruck run, in reference to the framed pack worn by the cadets.
Mills said the ruck run is always his favorite part of the competition.
“That just really shows how tough you are,” he said. “You have to dig down deep to make it all the way to the end of that.”
Heuer tripped and fell when her team had about one and a half miles left to go, but “she kept trucking along,” Wall said. “Our females did excellent, above and beyond the call of duty.”
At the end of the competition, the teams are ranked 1-10 and the top team in each category receives an award. BYU”s all-male team took first place for the seventh year in a row. The co-ed teams finished first and second in the co-ed category and took second place overall. Utah Valley University, which is in the same battalion as BYU, took first place in the all-female category.
Cadet Whitney Thayne, another female on one of BYU”s co-ed teams said, “I”ll miss the team unity, but I”m not going to miss the workout.”
