Starting today: Austin Peay ROTC Ranger Challenge team competing at Sandhurst

Austin Peay’s ROTC Ranger Challenge team will compete at Sandhurst, the world’s premier international academy military skills competition, starting today. The team will be one of the teams who earned a spot to compete at this year’s prestigious competition, which runs through the weekend. The team last competed at Sandhurst, hosted by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 2019. The event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Check www.apsu.edu/news for updates on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. You also can follow the team’s progress at West Point’s Sandhurst page. Who’s on the team Ryan Nanzer is the captain of the team. He and five other ROTC students return from last year’s team. They are: • Thomas Rose. • Shawn King. • Cherady Fine. • Zachary Labas. • Thomas Porter. The other members of the team who traveled to West Point are: • Quinton Nunn. • Thomas Haas. • Dylan Dominique. • Christopher Mains. • Angela Kim. Mark Harrington II is the team’s alternate. The team has been rigorously training for Sandhurst by conducting dismounted foot marches, weight training, running, and individual and group skills training, said Lt. Col. Mark Barton, the professor of military science for Austin Peay’s ROTC program. ‘Tenacity and grit of future military leaders’ The U.S. Military Academy has hosted the competition since 1967, and it has grown to include teams from across the country and the world. The competition takes the cadets through a rigorous 36-hour course “to test warrior spirit, team cohesion and dedication to mission accomplishment.” The course covers 16 events across 27 miles and tests individual and squad military skill mastery. This year, 16 Reserve Officer Training Corps programs, 25 U.S. Military Academy teams and three teams from other U.S. service academies. International teams are not competing this year because of COVID-19 restrictions. The Austin Peay team earned its spot at Sandhurst by winning the 7th Brigade ROTC Bold Warrior Challenge in October 2019 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Austin Peay defeated 37 schools from Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. To learn more • To learn more about Austin Peay’s ROTC program, go to https://www.apsu.edu/rotc. • For more about the Sandhurst competition, visit https://www.westpoint.edu/military/department-of-military-instruction/sandhurst.

The team at Sandhurst earlier this week.

(Posted April 16, 2021)

Austin Peay’s ROTC Ranger Challenge team will compete at Sandhurst, the world’s premier international academy military skills competition, starting today.

The team will be one of the teams who earned a spot to compete at this year’s prestigious competition, which runs through the weekend.

The team last competed at Sandhurst, hosted by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 2019. The event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

Check www.apsu.edu/news for updates on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. You also can follow the team’s progress at West Point’s Sandhurst page.

Who’s on the team

Ryan Nanzer is the captain of the team. He and five other ROTC students return from last year’s team. They are:

Thomas Rose.
Shawn King.
Cherady Fine.
Zachary Labas.
Thomas Porter.

The other members of the team who traveled to West Point are:

Quinton Nunn.
Thomas Haas.
Dylan Dominique.
Christopher Mains.
Angela Kim.

Mark Harrington II is the team’s alternate.

The team has been rigorously training for Sandhurst by conducting dismounted foot marches, weight training, running, and individual and group skills training, said Lt. Col. Mark Barton, the professor of military science for Austin Peay’s ROTC program.

The team prepares for Sandhurst earlier this year.

About the competition

The U.S. Military Academy has hosted the competition since 1967, and it has grown to include teams from across the country and the world. The competition takes the cadets through a rigorous 36-hour course “to test warrior spirit, team cohesion and dedication to mission accomplishment.”

The course covers 16 events across 27 miles and tests individual and squad military skill mastery.

This year, 16 Reserve Officer Training Corps programs, 25 U.S. Military Academy teams and three teams from other U.S. service academies. International teams are not competing this year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The Austin Peay team earned its spot at Sandhurst by winning the 7^th Brigade ROTC Bold Warrior Challenge in October 2019 at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Austin Peay defeated 37 schools from Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

To learn more

To learn more about Austin Peay’s ROTC program, go to https://www.apsu.edu/rotc.
For more about the Sandhurst competition, visit https://www.westpoint.edu/military/department-of-military-instruction/sandhurst.

News Feed

View All News

Most Americans see hazing as a public health issue, APSU study finds

Dr. Caitlin M. Shaw has co-authored a national study of 411 American adults, finding that most people view hazing as a public health issue -- not just a campus disciplinary matter.

Gilman Scholarship propels APSU's Ivan Lopez to Korean year abroad

Austin Peay State University radiologic technology major Ivan Lopez spent the 2025-26 academic year studying at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea, on a Gilman Scholarship, traveling across seven Asian countries and mentoring Korean students who are considering their own study abroad experiences.

APSU receives $50K Google grant to expand STEM education in rural Middle Tennessee

The Austin Peay State University Foundation has received a $50,000 contribution from Google to support its Collaborative STEM Education Initiative, delivering hands-on workshops in coding robotics, virtual reality, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence to K-12 students across five rural Middle Tennessee counties.