Five ROTC cadets earn spots on Sandhurst-bound Ranger Challenge team
(Published Feb. 18, 2020)
Five Austin Peay ROTC cadets recently proved themselves worthy for the Sandhurst military skills competition at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
By excelling at the Xavier University Ranger Challenge competition on Feb. 15, Cherady Fine, Shawn King, Ian Fearn, Madison Ellis and Jasmine Barrios will join Austin Peay’s Ranger Challenge team and prepare for Sandhurst.
They were among eight cadets who competed at Xavier, all with the goal of proving the deserved on the Sandhurst team.
“They all did pretty good, kept a positive attitude and didn’t quit," said Keith Colman, the team's coach and a military sciences instructor at APSU. "It was hard to cut a few of them.”
Fine, King, Fearn, Ellis and Barrios will join cadets who’ve already made the team, most of whom competed at Sandhurst last spring.
APSU’s ROTC Ranger Challenge team won the Bold Warrior Challenge in October at Fort Knox, Kentucky, qualifying Austin Peay for the second straight year for April’s globally renowned Sandhurst military skills competition at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. The cadets finished 29th at last year’s Sandhurst against the best teams from the U.S. service academies and from academies across the world.
‘We’ve been training our butts off’
Before the Xavier competition, ROTC Cadet Ryan Nanzer said, “We’re using the Xavier competition as an assessment to figure out who we need to bulk up our team for Sandhurst. I honestly think our team is pretty stacked right now.
“We’ve been training our butts off, trying to get in shape. I’m excited to see what happens.”
That the cadets were competing against each other to make the Sandhurst team – and not necessarily against other universities at the Xavier University competition – wasn’t lost on the competitors.
“From the beginning of the semester, I feel like I’ve been working pretty hard,” said King, who’s studying computer science at Austin Peay. “I get a shot at competing at the next level, at Sandhurst. Aside from my studies, that’s top priority right now.”
Added Barrios, a communication major, before the competition: “We’re going to remember that we’re all one team, but at the same time, in the back of our minds, we’ll know our partner is our competition. That’s going to be difficult for me.”
The Ranger Challenge team will compete in a 24-event mini-competition Feb. 29 and March 1 on campus. The mini-competition will mimic Sandhurst and include events such as land navigation, rope bridge and foot march.
To learn more about the Austin Peay ROTC program, go to www.apsu.edu/rotc/.
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