UVU Ranger Challenge team takes on the world at West Point event.
By Jay Wamsley | Photography by Jay Drowns
The Utah Valley University ROTC Ranger Challenge Team went to West Point, New York, in August, facing off against national and international-level competition designed to test and hone various skills.
The UVU squad competed against ROTC teams from Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado earlier in October 2018. After winning at that regional level, they competed at the brigade level, in San Antonio, Texas, where they faced other regional winners. Events at each of the competitions can vary, but can include activities such as a ruck march (with a 40-pound pack), marksmanship, weapon disassembly/assembly, artillery simulation, as well as evaluation of a casualty, hand-grenade assault course, fitness challenge, navigation and orienteering, and others.
There were 65 teams at West Point, 14 of which were international, and many from the service academies. The UVU Army ROTC team consisted of Gwynyth Simons, Joshua Peles, Gilbert Burns, Joseph Lloyd, Josh Butikofer, Cooper Wimmer, Travis Hall, Hyrum Ahlman, Tyler Miner, Austin Slade, and Jessica Evenson.
