Extracurricular Clubs
Competitive Clubs
Fencing:
- On Saturday, 17 January, the West Point Fencing Team hosted the 12th Annual Fencing Invitational in Arvin Gymnasium
- The Invitational started with CDT Tessa Knight singing the National Anthem while two Vietnam Veterans, who for years have refereed and have been tournament managers for the Army Home Fencing Invitational, stood on either side of our American Flag
- Army fencing took 1st place with the highest combined win loss record at 7-1
- The men took the 1st place berth as well, being the only undefeated Men’s Squad at the competition going 4-0
- Also taking 1st place on the Men’s side of the competition were both the Epee and Sabre Squads who went undefeated at 4-0
- CDT Marvin Hargraves was the top athlete finishing the day at 11-1 in Epee, while CDT Blake Gordon in Sabre, the reigning National Champion in that weapon, went 10-2
- Other impressive athletic records came in from CDT Gus Williams in Sabre (9-3), CDT Aaron Mellstrom in Epee (9-3), CDT Josh Qualls in Foil (7-4), and CDT Shawn Cooper in Foil (5-3)
- The men defeated all of their varsity opponents with the scores being University of Detroit 18-9, Cleveland State University 15-12, Swarthmore College 19-8 and Hunter College 20-7
- Highlights from the Women’s Team include CDT Tessa Knight in Epee rounding out her day at 6-3 in Epee with teammate CDT Shelby Turner going 7-2 in the weapon
- CDT Lexie Blair was the top Army Athlete for the day in women’s, going 9-3 in Sabre against all varsity opponents; her teammate CDT Mary Liu finished at 6-6
- In the weapon of foil, CDT Samantha Verduzco was 6-6
- The women defeated Cleveland State 14-13, University of Detroit 16-11 and Lafayette College 18-9; they dropped one to Stevens Institute of Technology
- The women rounded out the day at a 3-1 for a record
- The West Point Fencing Team hosts one of the largest collegiate fencing invitational’s in the country with over 45 duals completed on Saturday
Orienteering:
- On 16-19 Jan., twelve members of the USMA Orienteering Team traveled to Cartersville, GA, to compete in the Georgia Navigator Cup at Red Top Mountain State Park, outside of Atlanta
- Ten cadets competed in three races over three days that contributed toward their national rankings and improved their chances to compete on an American National Team
- The final day of the competition consisted of a team-format race that saw a stacked firstie team sweep the field over the plebe, yearling and officer teams
- Former orienteering cadet-in-charge Charlie Whitaker (Class of 2014) came from flight school at Fort Rucker to compete with former teammates:
Men’s Boxing:
- The West Point Men’s Boxing Team attended a USA Boxing event in Albany held by the Adirondack Association on 17 Jan
- Seven boxers competed against both novice and amateur experienced fighters
- The team went 4-3 with 2 of the 4 victories coming by TKO in the 3rd round
- Of the three losses, two were split decisions lost to Golden Glove fighters with almost double the experience as our fighters
- Every fight was a good learning experience on our Road to 7
- The event was held at Jerrick Jones’ gym in Albany, whom the team has worked with on multiple occasions spar-ring with fighters from his gym in preparation for Nationals
Support Clubs
Snow Support Ski Patrol:
- On 16-19 Jan., the West Point Ski Patrol traveled to Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid, NY, to conduct training of their new candidates
- During the trip, Cadets interacted with members of the Whiteface Patrol and Mountain Staff to not only improve skiing and snowboarding skills, but to also gain a better understanding of patrol and staff interactions with the skiing public
- Candidates and patrollers alike left the mountain with improved ski and board skills and knowledge on how larger mountains operate
- This experience and training will help them immensely as they prepare for their national ski patrol certification skills test that will occur at the end of this ski season
Hobby Clubs
Alpine Skiing:
- On 16 January, the Army Ski Team participated in it’s first Mid-East Collegiate Ski Conference for the year against RPI, Cornell, Syracuse, Ithaca, the University of Buffalo, and Binghamton at Labrador Mountain, NY
- The cadets finished 6th overall in Giant Slalom (GS) and 5th in Slalom (SL)
- CDT Sawyer Harkins finished 13th in GS and 9th in SL, out of 35 total varsity racers
- The cadets were without CDT Josh Ische, who is one of our top three racers, due to an eye surgery
- Racing varsity this weekend in addition to CDT Sawyer Harkins were CDTs Chris Emerson (Captain), Ayrne Riley, Patrick Kearney, and Logan Trust
- All racers are showing great development and improving with every race
Military Clubs
Pistol:
- On 16-17 Jan., the Pistol Team hosted teams from the Citadel and VMI for an intercollegiate pistol match
- West Point won all three open events (Free Pistol, Standard Pistol, Air Pistol) with an aggregate score of 6231 to the Citadel’s 6021 and VMI’s 5593
- Standouts in Air Pistols were CDTs Travis Moody, who shot a 555 out of a possible 600, and Melody Yap, who shot a 552
- Rounding out the four person scoring team were CDTs Ames Evans, with a score of 549, and Jeff Schanz, with a score of 546
- CDT Ames Evans shot the team and match high score of 491 in Free Pistol
- Also on the scoring team were CDTs Jeff Schanz (481), Mark Lister (470) and Jack Fagerland (475)
- CDT Jeff Schanz led the scoring team in Standard Pistol with a 535 out of a possible 600
- CDT Minhee Park followed closely with a 531, CDT Travis Moody shot a 530, and CDT Mark Lister shot a 516
Religious Clubs
Protestant Chapel Choir:
- The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend saw the Cadet Chapel in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA, on an outreach and team building trip section
- The Cadets were blessed to have the USMA Chaplain and Cadet Chapel Senior Pastor, Chaplain Colonel Barbara Sherer, as a choir member on the trip
- On Friday evening, the Cadets sang to a packed house at Reformation Lutheran Church in Media, PA, led and accompanied by Cadet Chapel Organist and Choirmaster Craig Williams
- In addition to a medley of sacred and patriotic hymns, the Cadets performed a series of traditional African-American spirituals in honor of the memory of Dr. King
- Saturday the Cadets explored the science of vertical flight at the American Helicopter Museum in West Chester, PA, and later continued celebrating Dr. King’s legacy in front of an-other capacity audience at Calvary Lutheran Church in West Chester
- Martin Luther King Jr. completed his divinity studies at Crozer College in Chester, PA, and the Philadelphia suburb remains proud of its association with the slain civil rights leader, and was thrilled to celebrate him with the Cadets
- On Sunday the Cadets led worship at both early and late services at Reformation Church, as plans to worship with the parishioners at Calvary later that morning were thwarted by freezing rain
- On Monday the Cadets paid homage to our nation’s roots at In-dependence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center in downtown Philadelphia before returning to West Point
DCA Happenings
Cadet Publications
Start the year off right with your West Point 2015 Souvenir Wall Calendar! The 2015 Calendar is a full-sized wall calendar with 12 gorgeous full-color scenic photographs of West Point and Hudson Valley. The special price includes FREE shipping/handling! Click Here
Cadet Programs
On 17 Jan., 1750 Cadets and guests attended the 500th Night Weekend Reception and Banquet in the Cadet Mess Hall, where General Lloyd Austin was the guest speaker.
The 500th Night Hop followed in Cullum Hall, where the Cadets could enjoy refreshments, dance, and receive complementary photos. Music for the hop was provided by Benny Haven’s Band.