This past weekend, the Air Force Academy’s Central Gym was electric as West Point Team Handball Men’s defeated Air Force 40-39 in a shootout for the ages. Fans from both USAFA and USMA filled the stands in preparation for the longstanding rivalry game that would come down to the wire. Staged on a shorter than usual court, the fast-paced, high scoring match-up went back and fourth through-out the 60 minutes of playtime. A buzzer-beating steal and goal by CDT Grantham Huguley sealed the tightly contested match in West Point’s favor. While competitors on the court, the USAFA cadets proved to be outstanding hosts. Both teams look forward to meeting up again at College Nationals in the spring.

On 7 Nov., the Army West Point Crew team travelled to New Brunswick, NJ, to compete in the last race of the season, the annual Rutgers Fall Classic. This was the first time that the team was invited to participate in the 2.5 mile race on the Raritan River, giving each Crew an opportunity to race against top boats from Rutgers, Bucknell, and Navy. In a departure from traditional fall head races, each team boated their top two crews as “even” boats, with the winning school deter-mined by the combined time of each team’s top two crews. Army crew captured the most wins of any school, prevailing in two of the four events, and winning covet-ed Rutgers Fall Classic Mugs with the fastest combined times in both the Men’s Varsity 4+, and the Women’s Freshman 8+ races. The winning Women’s Freshman boats consisted of CDTs Mary Bahr, Sara Boelter, Kate Campbell, Maggie Gleason, Catherine Hall, Lauren Hudak, Raquel Huggins, Megan Jarrell, Claire Jones, Amanda Kuruc, Samantha Leahy, Hannah Makuch, Natalie Nepa, Lauren Pile, Ashley Rivera, and Hannah Wentland, with coxswains CDT Xiao Pfohman and CDT Sydney Volenec. The cadets manning the first place finish Varsity 4+ boats included CDTS Jon Gilbertson, Winton Park, Dru Milke, Brad Wagner, Charlie Toch, Chris Wagner, Ethan Grogan, and Steven Martin, with CDT Jordan Duran and CDT Michael Huang in the coxswains seat. The Army Crew came in 2nd in the Women’s Varsity 4+ behind a much larger NCAA team from Rutgers. The Men’s Freshman 8+ finished behind Bucknell and the elite Corp-Squad Level DIV I heavyweight and lightweight teams from Navy, while besting their peers from Rutgers. In total, Army Crew entered eleven boats in the four races of the day, with five boats finishing in the top half of their events. The Rutgers Fall Classic ended the fall rowing season on a high note, showing the improvement the team has made over the past 10 weeks.

From 5-8 Nov., the Army West Point Cycling team had a cycling meet at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. Many USMA parents and relatives were there as spectators during the meet. USAFA won the meet overall. CDT Dailey took third place; CDT Wisnoski took fourth place; CDT Serrano took seventh place; and CDT Pritchard took ninth place.

On 8 Nov., seventeen cadets from the Army West Point Triathlon Team travelled to Austin, TX, to compete in the Ironman 70.3 Collegiate National Championships. Once again, the cadets from the Army team swept the podium. The team had the top three collegiate men, the top three collegiate women and the first place team. Air Force was the second place collegiate team. The top three men were CDTs Jacob Slife ’18, Thomas Hinds ’16, and Dylan Varrato ’17. The top women were CDTs Cat Sedy ’16, Mackenzie Williams ’18, and Paige Dougherty ’18. Two cadets also qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. In addition to the outstanding collegiate results, CDT Dylan Morgan ’16 raced as a professional athlete and finished 8th overall out of a field of 33 professional male triathletes; CDT Morgan completed the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run in a personal best of four hours and five minutes.

On 31 Oct., the Army West Point Equestrian team hosted a Zone 3 Region 3 ISHA English Hunter Seat competition at the Centenary College Equestrian Center in Long Valley, NJ. There they competed against Centenary College, Drew University, Marist College, Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY New Paltz, Stevens Institute of Technology, Vassar College, and William Peterson. In beginner walk/trot, CDT Julius Smoak ’15 placed first, CDT Matilda Brady ’19 placed second, and CDT Jeremy Schnipke ’19 placed second. In beginner walk/trot/canter, CDT Brady placed first and CDT Katie Silecchia ’19 placed third. CDT Holly Rodeo ’17 took first place in Novice Equitation over fences. In celebration of Halloween, an intense costume contest took place amongst the teams that wished to participate. Army West Point cadets dressed as the characters of the Wizard of OZ, and came in third place for the costume contest.

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WEST POINT, NY – Opening the National Collegiate Women's Varsity Rugby Association (NCWVRA) playoffs in the quarterfinal round from Anderson Rugby Complex, the Army West Point women's rugby team blew past Harvard, earning a 58-21 victory. The win propels Army into the semifinal round where they will meet with the Northeast Conference's fourth-seeded Norwich on Friday at 11 a.m. from Providence, RI.

A pair of hat tricks from Nicole Heavirland and Lindy Clark set the pace for Army, as Heavirland added an addition 11 points in her kicking game, contributing a total of 26 points on the afternoon. Heavirland got the scoring started in the third minute, successfully converting her kick to put Army up by a score of 7-0. Clark dotted down three minutes later, with Heavirland again booting the kick, giving Army the 14-0 advantage. In the 39th minute, Clark scored her second of the game, with Heavirland booting her third conversion of the afternoon to send Army into the break with the 29-7 lead. Read More

VESTAL, NY – The Army West Point men's basketball team used an early run to distance itself from Binghamton in an eventual 75-60 victory over the Bearcats on Sunday afternoon at the Binghamton University Events Center. Three Army players scored in double figures, including a game-high 23 points by Tanner Plomb as the Black Knights improved to 2-0 on the year. Kyle Wilson scored 16 points and Kevin Ferguson added 12 in the win. Plomb, Ferguson and Larry Toomey each pulled down eight rebounds as Army was plus-five on the glass.

The Black Knights shot 41 percent from the floor (25-of-61), including 11-for-30 from beyond the arc (36.7 percent). Army had 17 assists, including five from Jordan Fox and four by Toomey. "Binghamton brought everything they had today," Plomb said following the game. "Basketball is a game of runs and whether we make one or they make one, like they did in the second half, we have to know that one is coming for our team." Army used an early 10-2 run to jump out to a 12-6 lead and forced Binghamton into four turnovers prior to the first media stoppage. A runner by Scott Mammel tacked on two more points, before Toomey's drive and kick to an open Plomb three punctuated the 15-3 stretch and had Army up 17-7. Read More

WEST POINT, NY - The Army West Point women's basketball team won its second game in three days to begin the 2015-16 season, as the Black Knights defeated Quinnipiac, 67-57, on Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. Army improves to 2-0 on the year, while Quinnipiac opens its campaign 0-1. Senior Kelsey Minato netted a game-high 26 points to lead three double-digit scorers for the Black Knights as classmate Brianna Johnson finished with a career-best 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Aimee Oertner added 10 points. Click here to watch the video.

Minato totaled a team-leading seven rebounds, while Johnson collected five boards and recorded three steals. Senior Jean Parker finished with five points and six assists on the afternoon and freshman Madison Hovren registered five points and three assists, which all came in the second half. Sarah Shewan and Brittany Martin paced the Bobcats with 18 points and 16 points, respectively, while Shewan also added seven rebounds. Paula Strautmane pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds for the visitors. Read More

Civil Engineering Club teaches math classes at local high school. Eight cadets along with four faculty members from the Civil & Military Engineering Club visited Cornwall Central High School to take part in the national engineering day. The USMA contingent teamed up with local professional engineers to teach engineering-related topics to more than 40 math classes. This marks the 8th year that local professional engineers and USMA have visited Cornwall Central High School, and it is something many students look forward to during the year. Typically, cadets assist USMA faculty or local engineers during classes; however, this was the first year that cadets taught entire classes by themselves. They prepared and delivered their own lesson material and demonstrations. This was an inspiring experience as the visitors answered the students' questions and encouraged college and engineering as a future opportunity.

Cadet Military Working Dog (MWD) Kennel Capstone to become new Army Standard Design. Last year, cadets worked on a capstone to develop a modular, sustainable, and scalable Military Working Dog (MWD) Kennel that could be built at any CONUS facility and, with minimal changes, house either 9, 18, or 27 MWD. 2LTs Andy Laubach, Matt Rigs, Jacob Sines, and Christian McCollum heard from the customer, PEO-MWD, that their design is in the final steps of being approved by IMCOM and the Army Veterinary Corps. Pending final approval, their design will be built on Fort Irwin.

Cadets and faculty from XE475 (Mechatronics), ME404 (Intro to Mechanical Engineering Design), and EE401 (Electronic System Design) visited QinetiQ and MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory for site visits, capstone briefings, and introductions to robotic systems. QinetiQ (previously Foster-Miller) is home to the TALON and Dragon Runner robots. Cadets observed demonstrations of these robots and their uses for both supporting military and civilian operations. The cadets also received briefings in mechanical, electrical, and software design. The group then traveled to MIT Lincoln Labs for an overview of robots using ground penetrating radar to assist in navigation, 3D modeling, and unmanned systems research. Cadets also briefed their Capstone Project Preliminary Design Reviews to customers and experts in the field.

Cadets enrolled in the gateway seminar to the Writing Fellows Program attended a guest lecture by noted Cambridge lawyer Peter Ellis, a former Naval Officer, graduate of Harvard Law School, and former partner at Foley Hoag LLP. Mr. Ellis drew on his thirty-five years of experience as a trial lawyer, specifically in intellectual property litigation, to discuss with the cadets the relationship of writing to critical thinking; the idea of writing as a craft across legal, scientific, and technical professions; and, different strategies for teaching writing effectively.

Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Club tour of Davis Barracks Construction Site. Cadets from the West Point Student Chapter of SAME toured the Davis Barracks Construction Site. While on the tour, they discussed some of the project management and site considerations, and were able to enter into the structure itself to see firsthand some of the work progressing. CPT Eddie Major, Deputy Area Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers West Point Area Office, led the tour.

The Class of 2016 Environmental Engineers enrolled in EV402 Biological Treatment Processes conducted a lab at the Orange County Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) located in Harriman, NY. The intent of this lab was for students to complete a field survey of a wastewater treatment plant. As part of this exercise, cadets collected information to determine the operational capability of the plant. Lessons from the evaluation and information exchange with the WWTP Operator will be used to influence their semester design project.

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies hosted Dr. Julian Kulski. During his two day visit, Dr. Kulski, a veteran of the Polish Home Army who fought in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, spoke to cadets and faculty from multiple history and language classes. His visit was coordinated by Dr. David Frey and Dr. Larry Mansoor. Dr. Kulski also did an interview for the Center for Oral History. In both his talk and his interview, Dr. Kulski spoke of growing up in pre-WWII Poland, becoming a Boy Scout, and joining the Polish Underground at age 12. From ages 12 to 15, he was a fighter, hunting Germans and gathering arms, some of which he smuggled into the Warsaw Jewish ghetto prior to the 1943 Ghetto Uprising. After fighting in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, he became a prisoner-of-war, saved only by two Polish-American POWs he befriended in the camp. After finishing his high school education in Northern Ireland, Dr. Kulski immigrated to the United States where he commenced an extremely successful career as an architect. Part one of Dr. Kulski’s interview will soon be available on the Center for Oral History website (www.westpointcoh.org).

The Combating Terrorism Center’s Irregular Warfare Group (IWG) took 10 Cadets to visit Fort Bragg, NC. The cadets who attended the trip were the top performers from the IWG’s Unconventional Warfare (UW) Challenge on 03 October. The group visited various units with in the 3rd Special Forces Group and the 1st Special Warfare Training Group. IWG Cadets received briefs on the current operational environment, realignment to North Africa, the Special Forces (SF) redesign for specialized UW capability, the current SF qualification pipeline, and SF training. Cadets had the opportunity to discuss operations in Afghanistan with current Operational Detachment – Alpha (ODA) commanders, participate in physical training with Tactical Human Optimization, Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning (THOR3) coaches, attend an LPD with Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan on how to optimize organizational performance, and execute a Leadership Reaction Course designed for the Special Operations Preparation Course. This event was an excellent opportunity to expose Cadets to the operational side of the Army’s Special Operations Forces (ARSOF) and reinforce the IWG’s academic program on insurgency and terrorism theory. This is an invaluable mechanism to groom future ARSOF leaders and provide Cadets the opportunity to develop professional networks prior to commissioning.

Cadets from the National Society of Black Engineers traveled to Rochester, NY for the Region 1 conference. During the conference cadets attended a variety of workshops and sessions ranging from internal chapter development and emotional intelligence. The highlight of the weekend was members of the Chapter CDT Anthony Cox, and CDT Carlan Ivey earning 1st and 2nd Place respectively in the Draper Technical Challenge, the premier event of the conference. CDT Cox’s 1st place presentation involved developing and IR method to monitor blood sugar to prevent needle pricking up to 4x per day. CDT Ivey’s 2nd Place presentation developed a solution for large scale energy storage using quantum dots. For their efforts CDT’s Cox and Ivey were also awarded a total of $3000. The weekend closed at the banquet where West Point’s chapter earned the distinction of Best Chapter for our efforts to become a pipeline for young people to enter the field of engineering.

CENTER VALLEY, PA - Army West Point women's basketball senior guard Kelsey Minato and freshman forward Madison Hovren received Patriot League weekly awards on Monday, as Minato earned the league's Player of the Week nod and Hovren was selected as Rookie of the Week. The Patriot League Player of the Week mention is the 12th of Minato's career, while the conference honor is Hovren's first. Minato averaged 27.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games last week, including a 28-point, eight-rebound effort in a 63-53 season-opening victory over Pepperdine on Nov. 13.

Minato shot 9-for-19 from the floor in the contest, while posting a game high in points and matching a game high in rebounds. The senior also shot 7-of-8 from the foul line and handed out four assists in the win. Minato followed up her season debut with 26 points and seven boards during a 67-57 win versus Quinnipiac on Nov. 15. Minato added two steals and a block, while playing all 40 minutes against the Bobcats. Hovren averaged 4.5 points and 4.0 rebounds last week. She hauled in a total of eight rebounds over the two games, including six off the offensive glass. Hovren netted four points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench in her collegiate debut versus Pepperdine. Read More

WEST POINT, NY - Following a pair of impressive performances over the weekend, junior Parker Gahagen and sophomore Nicole Heavirland have each earned Army Athletic Association Athlete of the Week recognition. Gahagen stopped 23 shots to earn his second career shutout and first of the season against Connecticut on Nov. 10. He stopped 10 in the first period and helped Army secure a 2-0 win for its first victory of the season. The Buffalo, N.Y., native has appeared in five games between the pipes for Army and is coming up on his 50th career appearance. He has a 2.90 goals against average this season, which is among the top netminders in Atlantic Hockey. Click here to watch the video.

Heavirland paced the women's rugby offense over the weekend, recording five tries, 11 conversions and one penalty kick in the pair of wins. Her offensive output accounted for 42 percent of the Black Knights' scoring on the weekend. On the season, Heavirland has dotted down 13 times this season, tops amongst the Army squad. Serving as both fly half and kicker, she's also added 32 conversions and two penalty kicks in eight games. This is the second Athlete of the Week honor for Heavirland this season. She first earned the distinction on Sept. 14 following a four-try performance in the win over eventual conference champion Quinnipiac. Read More