DCA Update - Extracurricular Clubs

Competitive Clubs

Marathon:

This past weekend, three cadets from the West Point Marathon Team traveled to New York City, to take place in the Central Park Marathon
Due to the inclement weather, the Central Park Marathon was turned into a “fun run”, which means that it cannot be used for a Boston Qualifier
Despite the slushy conditions, the cadets chose to partake in the run anyways
Two of the cadets ran what would have been qualifying times (2:52), and by choosing to run regardless of the situation shows the resilience and tenacity of the team

Boxing (Men’s):

On 21 Feb., the Men’s Army Boxing Team competed in the West Point Invitational on the 4th Floor of Arvin, in the North Boxing Room
The Invitational was preparation for the Regionals in March and the Nationals in April
The teams that competed were: The Coast Guard Academy, Shippensburg University, and UMASS
Army Boxing went 15-1, and at one point won thirteen straight bouts
In attendance was the Superintendent, the BTO, and even MG Clarke stopped by, as he was visiting WP this weekend

Fencing:

The U.S. Fencing Association, the National Governing Body for the Olympic Sport in the United States, has named three West Point Cadets as “All Americans” in the sport of Fencing
In the past, only NCAA Athletes in Fencing were given this collegiate honor
The USFA had decided to honor certain non-NCAA fencers based on their achievement of current or prior National Championships in the sport at the Collegiate level, along with those ranking 1-3 in the nation
The following were given the award: CDT Blake Gordon (current collegiate National Champion in Sabre, ranked #1); CDT Marvin Hargraves (former collegiate National Champion in Epee, formerly #1); and CDT Gus Williams (ranked #2 in Sabre)

Support Clubs

Pipes & Drums:

On 21 Feb., four pipers from the West Point Pipes and Drums, which included the future lead players of the band, traveled to Newark, NJ, to watch the Metro Cup Solo Piping Invitational
The Metro Cup is the premier professional solo piping event in North America, with Gold Medal pipers and Glenfiddich champions coming to compete
The band members arrived at the Ramada Inn hotel, and met a few of the judges, as well as John Bottomley, the current piping instructor of the band
The event first featured the piobaireachd competition, and then the medley competition took place
After the winners of the competition were announced, the band members met up with Dan Lyden, one of the judges who favored the West Point Pipes and Drums back during the Army/Navy competition in December
The band had a productive conversation with Mr. Lyden about piobaireachd and competitions, and he gave the band members tips for the upcoming Scotia-Glenville competition
CDTS Hanson and Kenny also conversed with Pipe Sergeant Gordon Walker, formerly of the Royal High-land Fusiliers (British Army)

Academic Clubs

Debate:

On 20 Feb., thirteen cadets from the Army Debate Team traveled to Danbury, CT, to participate in the qualifying rounds for the National Debate Tournament
The National Debate Tournament is the debate version of the NCAA final four; only 72 pairs qualify for this event each year
CDTS Michael Barlow and Quanzy Caston got qualified this weekend, and will now be competing in the National Debate Tournament
Additionally, CDT Tessa Gould and Seamus Matlack were semi-finalists in the Novice Division

Debate: Model Arab League:

On 20 Feb., six cadets of the Model Arab League traveled to Clifton, NJ, for dinner at the La’Ziza Lebanese Restaurant
The purpose of this trip was to build team rapport and deepen the understanding of one facet of Arabic culture and cuisine
The cadets tried a variety of Lebanese dishes including hummus, tabbouleh, fattoush, falafel, kibbeh, shish tawook, kufta, and grilled meat served Levantine style
Spending several hours lingering over a meal and conversation is very common in the Arab world the cadets are learning about; this trip was a great team-building and learning experience

Hobby Clubs

Alpine Skiing:

On 20 Feb., the West Point Alpine Ski Team competed in the USCSA Mid-East Division Regional Championship at Bristol Mountain Ski Resort for the first time in three years
Among the thirteen competing schools were Cornell, Syracuse, Skidmore, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Binghamton Universities
CDT Sawyer Harkins (‘18) was selected as all-conference second team skier
Army Alpine will finish its season at Mount Bachelor, Oregon competing in the USCSA National Championship, that will take place 1 - 7 March

Nordic Skiing:

On the weekend of 20-22 Feb., the West Point Nordic Ski Team at-tended their last event of the season, the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference (ECSC) Regional Competition held at Camp Ethan Allen Training Center in Jericho, VT
Five members of the team competed in the events, which included a 8.5K Classic race and a1K Sprint Qualifier race followed by elimination heats on Saturday, and a 15K Skate race on Sunday
Several of West Point’s men showed great improvements in their 8.5K Classic race times; CDT Landon Hanson (‘16) finished in 33:59, CDT Spencer Read (‘16) completed the course in 39:33, and CDT Dylan Gahm (‘16) finished with a time of 35:42,
In the women’s 8.5K Classic, the team also showed improvement; CDT Emily Beecher (‘17) finished the course in 43:00, and CDT Rebecca Sauter (‘16) came in close behind with a finish time of 44:45
While all of the team members competed in the 1K Sprint Qualifier race, none finished within the top 16 places to continue on to the elimination heat races
In the Women’s 15K Skate race, CDT Emily Beecher finished with a race time of 1:37:29 and CDT Rebecca Sauter completed the race in 1:43:28
In the Men’s 15K Skate, CDT Dylan Gahm was the first finished for West Point, with a race time of 1:13:24
CDT Spencer Read was the next West Pointer to finish, completing the course in 1:17:10; CDT Landon Hanson was the last West Point finisher, with a race time of 1:23:37
This last event demonstrated that with more time on the snow, every member of the team got better at both skiing technique and speed

DCA Happenings

This past weekend 1900 Cadets and guests attended the Class of 2015, 100th Night Class Reception and Banquet in the Cadet Mess Hall. Cadets wore semi-formal civilian attire to the event. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii was the guest speaker; she is also a Captain in the Hawaii National Guard 29th Brigade Combat Team and has received a Meritorious Service Medal during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After the banquet, cadets and their guests moved to Eisenhower Hall to view the 100th Night Show.