The Army West Point women's track and field team placed second at the Patriot League Indoor Championships, the team's best finish since 2006. At the end of the 2018 Patriot League Indoor Championships, Army placed second overall with a score of 154, just four and a half points behind the leader, Bucknell. This score was Army's highest since 1995 when the team finished first with a score of 169. Abby Halbrook clocked in at 4:58.06 in the mile run which was good for second place. Followed by teammate Samantha Coletti in fifth with a time of 5:02.51. Lynne Mooradian claimed third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.95, and was followed by Asia Chen in eighth with a time of 10.36. Calli McMullen won the title in the 60m dash, clocking in at 7.58 seconds. Yasheika Beckaroo clocked in at 7.76 seconds which was good for sixth place, and Bonvie Fosam closed out in eighth place with a time of 7.88. Haley Watson placed fifth in the 500m with a time of 1:15.60. In the 800m, Hannah Deines finished in sixth place with a time of 2:14.86. Cassie Mundekis placed eighth with a time of 2:15.26. Read More

The American Politics Stem and the Domestic Affairs Forum hosted a panel to assess the first year of President Trump’s administration. CPT Sorenson, CPT Verardo, MAJ Brown, and CDT Matthew Herrera all contributed to the dialogue addressing the policy achievements of the first 365 days in the areas of foreign policy, regulation, and tax policy. Fifteen cadets attended the event.

The Army West Point wrestling team picked up a thrilling 18-15 victory over service-academy rival Navy in the Star Match on Saturday evening at Alumni Hall. The Black Knights close out the regular season at 3-6 overall and 2-3 in EIWA matches, while the Midshipmen dropped to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in conference duals. Additionally, Army improved to 9-6-2 in the 2017-18 Star Series presented by USAA. Trey Chalifoux opened the match with a comeback 6-5 win at 125 pounds after trailing 3-1 at the start of the third period. The Mids won the next three matches, capped by a Corey Wilding pin at 149 pounds to send the home squad to a 12-3 advantage. The Cadets had the heart of their lineup show up in a major way at that point, pulling three upsets to draw even in the dual. Yearling Lucas Weiland, who picked up his first-career dual win last week at Bucknell, earned a 5-1 upset victory over No. 26 Zack Davis at 157 pounds to get the rally started for Army. Firstie co-captain Andrew Mendel followed that with a 6-3 win over 19th-ranked Drew Daniels at 165 to set up Ben Harvey for the match of the year. Read More

Army West Point head diving coach PJ Hughes was sitting in his office chair on a mid-April afternoon when he got an unexpected email. It was from a plebe who was asking to try out for the team.

The rookie was Jorie Mason, and her diving background wasn't exactly something that would excite many Division I coaches. In fact, Mason had no experience with diving outside a month during her junior year of high school at Northern Lebanon in Fredericksburg, Pa.

What she had to lean on though was nearly 10 years of being a power gymnast. That is someone who has the strength to do the harder and more difficult skills and tricks, but does not always look the cleanest or most graceful. Unfortunately for Mason, being clean and graceful means a lot in diving. Divers are not only judged on difficulty, but also the execution of the dive, and that requires great technique to create as small of a splash as possible when impacting the water.

After spending nearly an entire year as a manager for the men's gymnastics team at West Point, Mason was starting to feel down. She spent most of her life training as a gymnast, and when she arrived at the Academy, she was only able to watch others compete in the sport she loved.

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Firstie Michael Nguyen of the Army West Point men's tennis team earned Patriot League Player of the Week accolades after a successful weekend of matches on the road. The San Jose, Calif. native defeated Portland State's Nathan Boniel, 7-6, 6-3, in the first flight, and put Army on track to sweep the Vikings in singles play. Nguyen also claimed his third doubles victory of the spring season with partner Gregory Shannon after a 6-4 win over Avery West and Tommy Edwards. Portland State is currently ranked first in the Big Sky conference, with its only loss at home coming from the Black Knights. Read More

Firstie Janae McNeal of the Army West Point women's basketball team was tabbed a Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) Division I Co-Player of the Week on Tuesday morning. McNeal joins Tyler Scaife of Rutgers as a co-winner of the weekly award and is the first Cadet this season to earn the honor. The Spotsylvania, Va., native paced the Black Knights on both ends of the court this past week, helping Army capture a pair of Patriot League wins over Holy Cross and Lehigh. In a 66-57 victory against the Crusaders last Wednesday, she posted her first double-double of the season and third in her career, putting up a game-high 25 points on 10-of-17 (59 percent) shooting with a season-best 12 rebounds. It was the second time in her career that she made 10 or more shots in a single game. She also played her part on the defensive end, tallying a season-high five steals in 28 minutes of action. McNeal followed up that performance by scoring a team-high 16 points on 7-of-12 (58 percent) shooting, whiling bringing down five boards against Lehigh this past Saturday. For the week, she averaged 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while connecting on 59 percent of her shots from the field. Read More

SOFWERX in collaboration with the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), began the second ThunderDrone Rapid Prototyping Event (RPE) with a Technology Expo at the SOFWERX facility in Ybor City, Florida. More than 220 industrial and 240 government personnel attended. 91 vendors presented their technologies in hopes of forming design and build teams, which will present their prototypes during the experimentation and outdoor demonstrations. ThunderDrone focuses on Counter Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-SUAS). The expo welcomes participants to showcase their capabilities that address any of the following C-SUAS phases: detect, locate, identify, track, exploit, defeat, assess. ThunderDrone’s main focus is solutions that permanently defeat drones and drone capabilities, but will also evaluate all new technologies. Key technologies of interest include autonomous functionality, mobility, discrimination, and multiple target engagement. Multiple departments and centers across USMA are developing C-UAS technologies through capstones, independent studies, and faculty research.

Following a four-point weekend, Alex Wilkinson of the Army West Point hockey team was named the Atlantic Hockey Association Defensive Player of the Week. Wilkinson scored Army's first two goals in Friday's 5-1 win over Bentley on Friday and recorded an assist. The yearling finished the weekend with two power play points. He scored the game-winner on Friday to mark the fourth of the season. With his two goals on Friday, the Raleigh, N.C., native posted his first multi-goal game and eighth multi-point game in his career. He now boasts 14 power play points to rank tied for sixth. The Black Knights host Sacred Heart this Friday and Saturday for the season finale. Both games will begin at 7:05 p.m. Read More

The Department of Behavior Science and Leadership (BS&L) held their biennial GatheRING (Return, Innovate, Network, Grow) event. This night serves to connect past, present, and future members and friends of BS&L…a human, cadet centric organization that fosters innovation and teamwork through collaborations. BS&L is a global leader in teaching and creating of knowledge for the practical application of leadership through behavioral, organizational, and sociological sciences to enhance leader effectiveness across the human dimension. No former faculty member has been more instrumental in those efforts than COL(R) Paul Bartone, the recipient of the Distinguished Former Faculty for Excellence in Support of the Department Award.

Rookie Bobby Heald and sophomore Ben Harvey of the Army West Point wrestling team were named co-Athletes of the Week by the Army West Point Athletic Association on Tuesday. The duo earned key victories in the team's 18-15 come-from-behind win over service-academy rival Navy on Saturday in Annapolis, Md. Harvey defeated No. 8 Jadaen Bernstein, 7-6, to tie the match at 12 apiece at 174 pounds, while Heald topped Austin Faunce, 2-1, in TB-2 at heavyweight in the match-deciding bout. It was Army's first time winning back-to-back duals over Navy since taking three straight from 1960-62. Additionally, the win was just the second for the Black Knights in Annapolis and first since 1961. Harvey improved to 15-7 on the year after defeating Bernstein for the first time in his career. The New Palestine, Ind., native documented his third win over a ranked opponent this season while setting a new personal best with six dual victories. Read More

Mrs. Elizabeth Woodruff, Mrs. Christina Thomas, Mrs. Shelisa Baskerville and Mrs. Jamie Enos gave their time to visit the Armed Forces & Society class for a military families and spouses panel. The spouses fielded questions from firstie cadets about a variety of relevant, timely topics, including: spouses balancing careers while being part of military families, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves, being a part of family readiness groups in general and also during unit combat deployments, how to find help for younger soldiers' families who experience troubles, unique features of life in military neighborhoods and on military posts, social events and special protocols, advice about getting married to military officers, and other important topics. Their insights contributed to cadet learning and development, and helped provide real world experiences to ground students' learning.

Eleven members of the Army West Point men's track and field team earned All-Patriot League honors after their performance at the Patriot League Championships on last weekend. At this meet, Army placed second overall with a final score of 197. First team honors were awarded to athletes who placed first in their events, and second team honors were awarded to athletes who placed second in their events. First Team - Lee Bares (Pole Vault), Kenneth Brinson (Weight Throw), Tyrell Maddox (500m), Ben Petrella (3000m, 5000m), Keagan Smith (1-Mile, DMR), Nick Causey (DMR), Christian Wright (DMR), Ben Boswell (DMR), Jeff Giannettino (High Jump). Second Team - Kevin Dyer (200m), Tyler Davis (60m). Read More

CDT Writing Fellows Sam Reichenthal '20 and Hope Hack '20 led "Writing for Love," part of the Mounger Writing Center's (MRC) Wednesday Night Workshop series. CDTs Hack and Reichenthal led a discussion on love letters that offered advice on what to do and not to do when crafting letters to that special someone. The workshop included examinations of historical examples, a mad-libs exercise, and a focused free write toward the end where cadets drew prompts to produce letters addressed to specific purposes (e.g. adoration, declaration, invitation, and so forth).

The MWC holds Wednesday Night Workshops virtually every Wednesday, 2000-2045, in JH301; most are designed for cadets, but anyone is welcome to attend. A full schedule is available at usma.edu/wpwp.

Eleven members of the Army West Point women's track and field team earned All-Patriot League honors after their performance at the Patriot League Championships on last weekend. At this meet, Army placed second overall with a final score of 154. First team honors were awarded to athletes who placed first in their events, and second team honors were awarded to athletes who placed second in their events. First Team - Abby Halbrook (1000m), Briyah Brown (Weight Throw, Shot Put), Calli McMullen (60m, 200m), Bonvie Fosam (Triple Jump) Second Team - Abby Halbrook (1-mile), Kamryn Brinson (Weight Throw), Lynne Mooradian (Pentathlon), Samantha Coletti (1000m), Morgan Chewning-Kulick (DMR), Emma Record (DMR), Cassie Mundekis (DMR), Andrea Karlen (DMR). Read More

Tickets are now available for the Army West Point baseball game against service-academy rival Navy at Fenway Park. The contest is slated for April 20 at 6 p.m. Proceeds from the game will benefit the Home Base Program, a partnership between Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation that helps veterans suffering from PTSD and other "invisible wounds of war." Tickets are general admission only and can be purchased at redsox.com/armynavy. All members of the military who attend the game in uniform will be granted free entry.

Cadets on a semester abroad in Latvia toured the Daugavpils (Dinaburg) Fortress and several Soviet World War II monuments. Daugavpils Fortress is the only early nineteenth century military fortification of its kind in Northern Europe that has been preserved without significant alterations. The construction of the fortress began in 1810 by decree of Tsar Alexander I of Russia. In this timeframe, there was an atmosphere of increased tension before Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire in 1812.

Five Cadets from the Army West Point women's swimming and diving team received postseason all-league honors after finishing second at last week's Patriot League Championships. "We had a very good conference meet and I'm proud of all our swimmers and divers," head coach Mickey Wender said. "We Worked hard, executed well, stayed tough and accomplished most of our goals. We stayed together as a team and had a lot of fun, while representing West Point well. Everyone learned a lot and will build on this as we move ahead." Individuals who win events at the Patriot League Swimming & Diving Championships automatically qualify for the All-League first team, while runner-up finishers are guaranteed a second-team spot. Both teams are back-filled by points, meaning a second-team member can move up to the first team if they accumulated enough points during the meet. Only individual points count. Sabrina Mortell makes her third consecutive appearance on an all-league team, previously being named to the first and second team. Serica Hallstead garnered second team all-league recognition for the second straight season. Read More

Dr. Ann Fisher-Wirth from the University of Mississippi visited West and guest lectured in Literature: The Arts of Love classrooms, conducted a poetry workshop with aspiring writers, and gave a poetry reading at the CFAF building on Trophy Point. Ann’s reading kicks off what the Creative Writing Forum and the West Point Humanities Center hopes to be a monthly reading series that invites writers to West Point as a way of inspiring cadets to pursue their creative talents. Dr. Fisher-Wirth’s new book of poetry, Mississippi, is a project she undertook with Maude Schuyler Clay, a Mississippi photographer from the Delta, and Ann read exclusively from this book, which is her fifth book of poetry. Ann teaches poetry in the MFA program at Ole Miss, and she also directs the Environmental Studies minor.

The Army West Point women's lacrosse team set new program records for scoring in its 21-4 victory over Central Connecticut State on Wednesday afternoon at Michie Stadium. In addition to breaking the programs single-game goals record of 20 versus Howard on March 22, 2016, the Black Knights' 15 scores in the first half were also a program-high. The previous best also came against the Bison as the Cadet potted 12 in the first half. The first 30 minutes of the contest were dominated by the Black Knights, who outshot their opponent 23-5, collected 15-of-17 draw controls and were a perfect 3-for-3 in free position shots. Today marked just the third-time Army has broken the 15-goal threshold, having also accomplished this feat at Presbyterian with a 16-3 road win on March 14, 2016, and with a 20-8 victory over the Bison of Howard. Army scored game's first 11 goals through 17:35. This offensive showcase was highlighted by the Black Knights netting four goals over a span of 1:21. Rookie Megan Raftery began the run by weaving through the Blue Devils' defense and beating the goalkeeper at the 16:23 mark in the first half. Read More

Fourteen cadets enrolled in Photogrammetry along with 3 faculty from the Geospatial Information Science (GIS) program (Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering) participated in a trip section to Keystone Aerial Surveys, Inc. located in Philadelphia, PA. During the visit, cadets gained exposure to the tools and workflows required for acquisition and processing of aerial photographs and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Keystone has flown millions of survey miles throughout the United States and conducts several different geospatial missions including conventional and digital photogrammetry, aerial photo processing, Li- DAR, and photograph-based 3D point cloud development. Keystone operates with a fleet of 21 aircraft and has worked for a variety of government agencies including the USDA (NRI, WRP, and NAIP, Forest Service) USGS, BLM, FEMA, US Army Corps of Engineers and NOAA. During the visit, cadets broke up into small groups, which rotated through numerous educational stations focusing on aerial survey planning and coordination, photogrammetric image processing, film scanning, mission flight planning, film and digital aerial cameras, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), and manned collection aircraft. The visit put several concepts taught in class into perspective for the cadets and sparked further interest into the fields of photogrammetry and remote sensing. In addition, cadets got to witness the Keystone staff actively processing high-resolution aerial imagery of the recent Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl parade, where approximately 2 million fans gathered in the streets of downtown Philadelphia.