Cedars, December 2017

December 2017 9 CAMPUS that cut through the woods and a waist-deep creek. “There was this one point (where) there was a sign hanging from a tree, and the idea was to build a human pyr- amid and climb up and touch it,” Mason said. “But Mack- lenar and Sheehan were like ‘Screw that’ and Sheehan got down on his hands and knees and Macklenar ran up on his back and just jumped up and slapped it. It was awesome, and it saved us a ton of time.” Some of the other events included carrying heavy ob- jects over 250 meters while maneuvering around obstacles, shooting while wearing a gas mask after sprinting 50 me- ters, and throwing a hand grenade within a foot of a build- ing while avoiding fire. Another event, the three-mile march with their 35 pounds of equipment, proved to be more of a challenge than initially thought due to the changing elevations they had to navigate. The one rope bridge, or O-R-B, also made a return from the regional Brigade competition these cadets competed in and won two weeks prior. The highlight for many of the cadets though was the final event on Saturday: the tug of war. “We might not have been the bulkiest team, but I think what this event [tug of war] really highlighted was our teamwork and heart,” Lesko said. “We kept pulling together even when other teams gave up.” Following a cadence, or chant, learned from Man Week, a Cedarville dorm competition that took place in Oc- tober, the team coordinated its efforts to beat their bigger opponents. “We faced some strong opponents throughout the tour- nament but were able to outlast our opponents and win the event,” Sheehan said. “On Saturday night, everyone was ex- hausted from the events that took place earlier in the day, but we were able to use exceptional teamwork and pure heart to beat our opponents.” Mason admitted that the team had many setbacks, in- cluding limited access to resources, such as trainers, extra gym hours, and nutritionists, that other teams have. And yet, he said, the team was able to overcome that mentally. “It speaks of the caliber of individuals we have in the Ranger Challenge team,” Mason said. Lesko, Mason, Sheehan, Albright and Johnson were the only returning members, with many of the new mem- bers underclassmen. When preparing the lineup for this year, the require- ments of every Ranger team are that at least one female and a cadet from each class are represented in the competition. Freshman representative Arnold made his mark at the competition when he placed eighth out of 150 cadets in the ruck march. As voted by the team, the MVP award was given to fe- male representative Lesko. According to Sheehan, Lesko earned the award because she exhibited exceptional phys- ical fitness and mental fortitude. “Lesko pushed through bloodied-up hands and cramp- ing legs to finish the day strong for us on Saturday,” said Sheehan. Both commanders agreed with the vote for MVP. “She’s just a beast,” said Mason. “The only reason why we do as well as we do is because Lesko is just a freak of na- ture ... I can’t imagine anyone who contributed more to the team. A lot of teams are limited by their female ... but Lesko is always near the top of the pack, she never limits us ... she is definitely our most valuable person.” Brianna Saucier is a freshman English major and Campus reporter for Cedars. She enjoys soccer, photography, and Army ROTC. Photo by Kassandra Jensen The Cedarville Rangers compete in a three-mile ruck march with 35-pound packs. Photo by Kassandra Jensen John Costello engages targets after sprinting 50 meters and taking evasive action while