The competition, which took place Oct.,”While most students were either partying or cramming for midterm exams the weekend before fall break, members of Marquette's Army Reserve Officer Training Corps were busy taking first place honors at the 2007 Ranger Challenge at Fort McCoy, Wis.

The competition, which took place Oct. 12-14 in west-central Wisconsin, is a regional competition testing participants both mentally and physically in a series of military tasks and drills based on teamwork.

Marquette sent two nine-person male teams, Alpha and Bravo, and one five-person female team, Charlie. There were 26 teams at the event, according to Karen Berardi, a senior in the College of Communication and Army ROTC public affairs officer.

The Alpha team took first place overall and the Charlie team was named "Best Female Team" at the challenge. The Bravo team also received high honors, placing fifth overall and winning the Sgt. Major's Challenge event.

The Alpha team won three events, including the night land navigation, day land navigation and the 10K forced road march, which is the last and most important event of the Ranger Challenge, Berardi said.

"It was definitely the highlight of my ROTC career," said Alpha team captain Adam Knoll, a senior in the College of Business Administration.

The Alpha team was in second place going into the final event, and Knoll said the team knew what it had to do to win.

"We gave it all we had," he said.

Knoll said this year's performance was the best that Marquette's three teams have ever done as a whole. He said the teams have been training and practicing together for about seven weeks.

Knoll said the Ranger Challenge is an important event because it only happens once a year and whoever does the best gets "braggin' rights." He said it is important to do well because it speaks highly of the organization.

Lt. Col. Clark Backus, professor of military science and Army ROTC commanding officer, said the students' performance means a lot to the Army ROTC program as a whole.

"Winning isn't everything, but it is a lot," Backus said. "They're definitely committed to winning and I'm very proud of them for that."

Backus said he credits the performance to preparation and training and said Marquette has a long history of placing in the top three at the Ranger

Challenge.

Two years ago, Marquette's Army ROTC took first place. Last year, the team took third.

"It reflects a high degree of teamwork, and that's really what the Army is about," Backus said.

He said he hopes the results will help Marquette get invited to the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition, a national military instruction competition held annually at West Point, N.Y., in April. Backus said Marquette just missed the invite two years ago.

According to the Department of Military Instruction Web site, only six university ROTC teams are selected to participate each year.

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