COLORADO SPRINGS, CO Army West Point freshman Nathan Brewer added an impressive accolade to a strong first season at the Academy. Brewer won the gold medal in Smallbore at the 2016 National Junior Olympic Championships. The three-day event concluded yesterday evening and was held in Colorado Springs, CO. Brewer won the Smallbore crown with relative ease. He clinched the gold medal before the finals had even begun with the two best qualifying scores. The Walla Walla, Wash., native went on to post the top finals score as well for a total of 2338. Brewer's margin of victory was 14 points, the largest differential between first and second place in any of the three events. Read More

Although men's rugby has only been recently adopted by ODIA and elevated to varsity status, its history at the U.S. Military Academy stems back to the 1960's. Click here to watch the video. Those on the current roster don't only join the Long Gray Line, but the brotherhood of Army West Point Rugby. Being a member of the rugby brotherhood continues long after you step off the pitch for the final time. Story

"For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother." - Henry V

Congratulations to the USMA‬ Cyber Defense Team for winning the 16th Annual Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX). The CDX is a cyber security exercise in which students from the service academies design and build computer networks and defend them against intrusions by the National Security Agency/Central Security Services (NSA/CSS) Red Team (Red Cell).

CENTER VALLEY, PA - Lee Bares of the Army West Point men's track and field team received Field Athlete of the Week honors from the Patriot League following a record setting pole vault performance at the Penn State Relays, the conference announced Monday. "Lee has consistently jumped at high marks since last spring, and I expect him to continue that trend this winter and spring," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "He has not yet jumped from a full approach run, so there is clearly more room for him to improve. He is a great competitor, and I am looking forward to seeing him compete to win most of the meets that we go to."

Bares won pole vault on Saturday with a height of 5.15 meters, breaking his personal best for the second time this season. The Lakeville, Minn., native continues to improve upon his second-best program mark, edging his way closer to Darrin Hinman's mark of 5.24 meters that was set in 1997 in a tri-meet versus St. John's and Columbia. Read More

WORCESTER, MA - Freshman Daniel Burggraaf tossed an impressive seven-plus innings of two-hit baseball for Army West Point as he led the Black Knights to a 3-0 victory in the series finale at Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon. "These guys are tough minded and always fight no matter what the situation is," said head coach Matt Reid. "They're always composed. We have a lot to work on, but baseball is a process of working hard to get better in all details of the game. We will get back to work this week and get better." Read More

WEST POINT, NY - The Army West Point men's tennis team celebrated Senior Day on Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 victory over Boston University. The Black Knights improved to 15-7 on the year and 4-0 in the Patriot League while Boston U dropped to 8-10 but suffered its first league loss after winning its first three. Eight seniors were honored before the match. Caison Best, Ben Davies, Joey Hatala, Sam Jang-Milsten, Austin McCasin, Harrison McCormick, David Proctor, and Ron Verano were each presented with a commemorative coin from Director of Athletics Boo Corrgian and gifts from teammates. The victory was the 25th regular season Patriot League win for the four-year class in as many tries. Read More

LEWISBURG, PA - The Army West Point women's track and field team finished the Bucknell Outdoor Classic in strong fashion, specifically from the likes of Briyah Brown. Brown took the title in the shot put while topping her own school record. Her top throw of 15.15 meters was far and away the best throw of the day, as nobody else topped 14 meters. "Brown has been so good for us this year and so dependable that her success is often taken for granted," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Mike Smith. "It is not easy to win or compete at the top each and every week yet there she is at every meet. I am proud of her and really look forward to what she can do we move ahead into the championship meets." Read More

WEST POINT, NY - Army West Point sophomore Michael Nguyen of the men's tennis team earned Patriot League Player of the Week honors earlier today. It is the first time Nguyen has been honored by the league and is the second time this spring a Black Knight earned the award. Nguyen's efforts this week helped improved Army's record to 15-7 and 4-0 in the Patriot League with 4-1 wins against Lehigh and Boston University. He went 2-0 in both singles and doubles. He played in the fourth singles flight in both matches. The first was a tight, 7-5, 7-5 victory against George Cooper of Lehigh. Nguyen then went onto win 6-2, 6-3 against Boston U's Satyajit Simhadri. He has now won three straight singles matches, winning seven of his last eight contests, and is the first Cadet to reach 10 singles wins this spring as he is currently the team leader with 11 wins. Read More

CENTER VALLEY, PA - Army West Point freshman Izzy McMahon earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors, as the league announced its weekly awards on Monday. The conference recognition is the first of McMahon's career and she becomes the second Army player to win the award this season after classmate Nikki Polhamus was selected on Feb. 22. McMahon led Army with a season-high four goals in a 12-9 loss to American on April 16. She netted three of those goals during the second half to lead a comeback charge that brought the Black Knights from five goals down to a one-goal deficit late in the second period. McMahon also added a pair of draw controls in the setback and successfully converted her only free-position shot of the contest. Read More

The Army West Point Triathlon Team hosted the Northeast Collegiate Triathlon Conference (NECTC) for its 2016 NECTC Duathlon held here on 2 April. Athletes represented triathlon clubs from across the northeast to include those of UConn, Rutgers, Binghamton, Syracuse, Drexel, MIT, UMass, and Penn State. Approximately 60 athletes endured the rain and cold weather throughout the 2 km run and 25 km bike along route 293 as well as an additional 5 km run within the Camp Natural Bridge and Camp Buckner areas. West Point cheered on four of its own athletes as they competed in their first NECTC event as recent additions to the team. Theresa Groton ’18 led the females to the finish, arriving more than a minute ahead of the second place female. Megan Jarrell ’19 was the fifth female to cross the line. Taylor Rodenhuis ’18 placed seventh, and Jacob Pettit ’19 finished thirteenth among a very strong field of collegiate males. All 20 of the team’s athletes are now eligible for and slated to compete in the 2016 Collegiate Club National Championships at Clemson, SC on 22-23 April where they look to beat Navy and bring the title back to West Point. PNE Instructor CPT John Davis was the Race Director for this event with assistance from the West Point Triathlon OIC, PNE Acting Deputy Department Head, LTC Ken Allen.

The Army West Point Kendo team travelled to Cleveland, OH, to compete in the 28th Annual Kendo Tournament. Each member competed in the individual brackets for their respective kendo ranks, as well as competing in the team tournament. New members CPT Robert Graves and CDT Beomjin (“Dan”) An competed in their first tournament matches ever, each winning their first round matches. In the team tournament, the team found a hard fight against the Washington, D.C., regional team, but unfortunately did not prevail. On Sunday, the team attended a seminar lead by Mitsuru Hamasaki Sensei, the former chief instructor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Kendo. The seminar was very educational, and each member took away valuable lessons from this very high ranking Keno Master. Following the seminar, a few of the club members took promotion examinations. CDT Zachary Chaikin tested for and attained the of 2nd Dan, and CPT Robert Graves and CDT Beomjin “Dan” An tested for their kyu ranks.

31 cadets and two faculty from the Departments of Physics & Nuclear Engineering and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science attended a full-day Defense Technology Seminar hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory. This was the sixteenth consecutive year of the seminar where cadets get to see how a federally-funded research and development center operates. The cadets received classified briefings on current research initiatives such as 3-D laser sensing, micro UAV development, drone detection and defense, and disaster response integration. Later in the day, the cadets were given tours of the microelectronics fabrication facility, the threat prototyping lab, the persistent surveillance demonstration facility, and the flight facility. These tours highlighted the actual hands-on testing done at Lincoln Laboratory. The cadets were exposed to possible areas of research relevant to both physics and electrical engineering, and were afforded the opportunity to ask questions of and interact with world class researchers in their fields. In addition, they saw the capabilities that Lincoln Laboratory can provide to the warfighter and the Department of Defense, which will be useful to them as they progress in their Army careers.

LTC Kimball led her Geology class on a trip to study the geologic history of the greater Hudson Valley. Cadets synthesized topics by learning 600 million years of geologic history, including the formation of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks in the region, glacial process, and how structural geology is different from topography. During the trip, cadets also discussed the significant role that geology played in recent human history, including the “Black Soils” region settled by the Polish; gravel quarries that made it profitable to develop rail lines and canals; limestone mines that were a large source of cement before the creation of Portland Cement; and the flat-lying sedimentary rocks (cut by the Wallkill River) that influenced the New Paltz settlements of the Huguenots in the late 1600s.

The Fencing team’s Women travelled to Brown University in Providence, RI. There, the Women’s Fencing Team qualified for their 12th consecutive Collegiate Fencing Nationals Champion-ships. CDT Laura Pleake led her women’s squad to a total shut out of Navy, defeating them in two out of three weapons, earning them their Navy Star; most of the head to head combative bouts were not even close in score. CDT Bethany Forte along with CDT Taylor Sharpsten and CDT Callie Peace advanced to the semi-finals at Nationals before being stopped by Michigan State; their squad garnered a 4th place National Ranking and finish. In the weapon of Women’s Foil, Army had another National Championship win. The powerhouse squad consisted of CDT Samantha Verduzco, CDT Rachel Pennington, CDT Haley Holli-man, and foil squad captain CDT Claudia Sun. Both CDT Sun and CDT Pennington advanced to the Individual Finals; CDT Pennington finished 9th for the day, ranking in the top 4% of all athletes in the nation. CDT Sun moved through the direct elimination bracket to the final gold medal bout versus Dartmouth College, and she handedly defeated her opponent, clinching the National Championship Title; she is only the second woman at West Point to do so, and is currently ranked #1 in the Nation for Collegiate Fencing.

During this time, the Men’s Fencing team also qualified for their 12th consecutive Collegiate Fencing National Championship, also held at Brown University. In the weapon of Men’s Epee, CDT Aaron Mellstrom qualified for the Individual Finals and finished 9th, put-ting him in the top 5% in the nation of all collegiate fencers in that weapon. The Men also blew Navy out of the water by defeating them in two out of three weapons with their Individual Head bouts having lopsided scores in Army’s favor; this earned them their Navy Star as well. CDT Blake Gordon once again repeated another National Championship Win in the cavalry weapon of Sabre. He and his weapon squad went on to not only defeat Navy in the Direct Elimination early part of the bracket, but also defeated nationally ranked Michigan State in a very hard fought close combative score with all team mates participating as competitors in this victory. The National Champion Sabre Squad consisted of CDTs Gus Williams, Noah Kambili, Josh Pleake, and David Oh. For CDT Pleake and CDT Oh, this was their first Nationals and first year of fencing on the team with no prior experience in the sport. CDT Williams qualified for the Individual Finals and finished 7th, placing him in the Top 3% of all athletes in the Nation.

Majors Ran Du and Colin Tansey, instructors in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering (D/G&EnE), travelled to Fort Hamilton, NY for West Point Day. Throughout the day, MAJ Du and MAJ Tansey engaged with cadet candidates and their families and introduced them to the diverse academic programs offered by G&ENE. Some of the displays present are filtration and disinfection devices ranging from uses in recreation to desalination. In addition, visitors are shown a cadet Capstone project entered into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge. The 3D Latrine model held by MAJ Du is designed to turn human waste into compost through anaerobic digestion, which addresses both sustainability and waste treatment in the developing world. Additionally, members of the West Point Latin Dance Club, OIC’d by MAJ Tansey, performed a variety of Latin dances and even gave cadet candidates some dance lessons. The team helped demonstrate the diversity of Corps of Cadets and some of the many activities Cadets participate in at West Point.

The Army West Point Orienteering Team captured its fourteenth consecutive national championship on Sunday, April 3, 2016, with a dominating victory at the 2016 U.S. Intercollegiate Championships in Hamilton, Ohio. The championship consisted of an urban sprint course on Friday and two classic courses on Saturday (8.4 km) and Sunday (8.2 km). Competitors’ times were aggregated across the races on Saturday and Sunday to determine the finishing order.
Stand-out performances by Cadets Nick Ives ('16), Patrick Richardson (’16) Jett Dipalma ('17), and Michael Bruce ('18), who placed first as a team, led the way to this fourteenth consecutive victory. Additionally, Cadets Matthew Brooks ’19 and Justin Augustine ’19 performed exceptionally well in their first intercollegiate championship, reflecting the depth of the team’s roster and the potential for future success. This fourteenth consecutive national championship caps off a successful season for the Army West Point Orienteering Team and strong performances by underclassmen on the team point toward continued achievement in future seasons.

The Army West Point Martial Arts team showed off their exceptional skills in Karate at the United States Karate Alliance National Championship in Denver, CO. The team dominated the two-day competition in full contact fighting, point fighting, weapons fighting, and forms. Overall, the team won gold, coming away as National Champions in 10 of the 15 fighting divisions and one of the forms divisions. The tally of medals was 11 Gold, 7 Silver, and 10 Bronze. In the Full Contact Fighting Men’s Black Belt divisions, CDT Jordan Nettles won third place lightweight, CDT Anthony Chargualaf won first place lightweight, CDT Jackson Darash won third place heavyweight, and CDT Andrew Buelow won second place lightweight. CDT Eli Eichenberger had an impressive showing, competing for grand champion, after winning gold in full contact and point fighting. CDTs Liana Blatnik and Natasha Chick won their respective Women’s Brown Belt and Black Belt in full contact divisions. In point fighting, CDT Jordan Nettles took second with CDT Andrew Buelow taking third in lightweight black belts. CDT Sarah Juhn took first and CDT Kayla Johnson took third in the Women’s Color Belts, and CDT Liana Blatnik took second in Women’s Brown Belts. In Kata, CDT Halsey Smith took first place in the Men’s Black Belt Division, and CDT Liana Blatnik took second in the Women’s Brown Belt division. In the Weapons Point Sparring Competition, CDT Sarah Juhn won third place and CDT Kayla Johnson won first place in the Women’s Color Belt Division.

Four honors cadets from the Geography Program presented research findings at the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers in San Francisco. Cadets Jordan Bray, Solomon McGinty, Kelly Kang, and Ian Meyers summarized their work on urbanization, demographics, and migration in Africa, and on the illegal blood trade in China.

15 Cadets from USMA’s Environmental Science class (EV301) travelled to the Wheelabrator Westchester L.P. Facility in Peekskill, NY, to view the generation of energy from combusting municipal solid waste. Wheelabrator Westchester L.P. generates approximately 60,000 kW of electricity, enough to supply 67,000 New York homes, by burning household and commercial trash from throughout Westchester County. Cadets saw firsthand how 2,250 tons of waste per day is incinerated and then converted to mechanical energy before being distributed onto the electrical grid. Cadets also learned about air pollution control devices that are used to ensure that the exhaust gases meet federal emission standards.

Army West Point Men’s Volleyball team travelled to State College, PA, for the ECVA Championships. The men’s team competed well against much larger schools from the higher Division 1 level, and the team finished 1-2 in pool play. The tournament gave the cadets a chance to compete against Virginia Tech, the number two ranked school in Division I club volleyball. They also performed very well against West Virginia, narrowly missing the victory. Finally, the team’s defeat of Liberty should guarantee a high seeding for the team at Nationals taking place on 7 April, 2016.