Go back
ApplyRequest InfoVisitGiveCalendar
Home » News » Starting today: Austin Peay ROTC Ranger Challenge team competing at Sandhurst

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:

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

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.

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 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 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

News Feed

View All News
destiny-birdsong
Award-winning author Destiny O. Birdsong to visit Austin Peay on Sept. 24

Austin Peay State University's Zone 3 Press, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, will host award-winning author Destiny O. Birdsong for a free public reading and book signing at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 in Art + Design Room 120.

Read More
Austin Peay sets enrollment record for second straight year, welcomes largest freshman class in eight years
Austin Peay sets enrollment record for second straight year, welcomes largest freshman class in eight years

Austin Peay has set a new all-time enrollment record for the second consecutive year, with 11,338 students registered for Fall 2026. The growth is led by the university's largest incoming freshman class since 2018, with 1,918 first-time students, and by the highest proportion of military-affiliated students in Austin Peay's history. Active-duty service members, veterans, and military family members represent 35% of the student body.

Read More
20260218-Legends-of-Business-Speaker-2749
Austin Peay to spotlight tech and economic development leaders during fall Legends of Business series

The College of Business and Legends Bank will bring Mark Blaze, president and CEO of the Greater Nashville Technology Council, and Janet Wilson, vice president for urban development for the Clarksville-Montgomery County Economic Development Council, to campus this fall for the Legends of Business speaker series.

Read More