Ranger Challenge team aims for Sandhurst championship

April 23, 2022

UNG will look to earn a fourth straight ROTC title and contend for top overall honors at the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition set for April 29-30 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The University of North Georgia (UNG) Ranger Challenge team will seek to earn a fourth consecutive ROTC title and challenge for top overall honors this week at the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition. Set for April 29-30 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Sandhurst features teams from West Point, Army ROTC units across the nation, all service academies, and 15 international teams. A total of 50 teams will compete.

Ranger Challenge is the varsity sport of Army ROTC, and teams compete against other colleges in events such as patrol, marksmanship, weapons assembly, grenade assault course, Army Combat Fitness Test, land navigation, and road march.

UNG has finished in the top four overall in each of its three previous Sandhurst ROTC title victories (2018, 2019 and 2021). With an experienced group, cadet 2nd Lt. Noah Umezaki and his teammates are eager to see how they stack up.

"We're here to compete. We're here to win. That's all we're really focusing on," Umezaki, a senior from Saitama, Japan, pursuing a degree in marketing with a sales concentration, said. "We don't need to prove ourselves. We are refining our skills and finding ways we can push ourselves to be better."

We're here to compete. We're here to win. That's all we're really focusing on. We don't need to prove ourselves. We are refining our skills and finding ways we can push ourselves to be better.

Noah Umezaki

UNG cadet and Ranger Challenge team member

In addition to Umezaki, this year's Sandhurst participants for UNG include team leaders Austin Gabriel and Daniel Shearer, squad leader Hayley Farmer, Ian Bryan, William Buettner, Justin Collado, Haydn Griffin, Shane Henderson, Esther Kim, and Zane Parrish.

UNG earned the return trip to Sandhurst with its Spartan Ranger Challenge victory in late October.

Retired Maj. Donovan Duke, UNG Ranger Challenge coach, appreciates the mentality of building on success without resting on the group's laurels.

"This team is just as proficient and competent and has just as much opportunity as previous years. We have a good mix between seniors with competitive experience all the way down to our youngest freshman who has experience as well," Duke said. "They're not letting the previous success go to their head. They're staying focused and driven for our goal to win Sandhurst."

Kim, a senior from Johns Creek, Georgia, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, thrives on being around fellow Corps of Cadets leaders in the competitive environment of Ranger Challenge.

"Being able to work with them and learn from them and mentor the younger kids has been a great opportunity," Kim said.

Gabriel, a senior from Athens, Georgia, pursuing a degree in criminal justice, said the team has a tribe mentality built on spending time together both competitively and socially. Umezaki and Kim also pointed to the team's close-knit nature.

"You train with these guys every day. You get to know everyone on the team on a personal level," Umezaki said. "The people I've connected with on the team, I'm going to be friends with them for life. I know they have my back and I have theirs."

The months of hard work have all built to this moment.

"It's where the rubber meets the road," Gabriel said. "And we take it from here."

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