After Action Reports – 14
-21 Sept. 2009
Marathon Team
Harrisburg Half Marathon
Across the board, both the men’s and women’s
teams did extremely well at the Harrisburg Half marathon on September 13th.
The rookies, in particular, had a great start
to the season.
The course was smooth and the weather was
perfect for a 13.1 mile race of 1150 people.
On the women’s side, Sarah Binder (F3) came in
first for ladies 19 and under in 1:38:04.
Ashley Ehasz (G1) and Diana Bunjovac (F1)
finished 2nd in the 20-24 category in 1:39:22.
Ginger Recinos (H3), Meg-Ann Braun (C1), and
Kelly Macdonald placed 4th, 8th, and 10th,
respectively, in the same age group with times of 1:40:55, 1:48:12, and
1:55:52.
For the men, plebe Colin Chapman (G4) placed
first for the team, 8th overall in the race, and 1st
in his age group of men 19 and under in a time of 1:19:18.
Ben Troxell (D2) and Matt Ryan (D2) were not
far behind with times of 1:22:04 and 1:24:14.
Ben Karn (G1) took 4th in the 19 and
under group in 1:26:44.
For the men’s 20-24 category, the rest of the
men’s team had a near sweep of the top spots.
Mike Fanelli (C3) placed 4th in
1:26:15, Jake Chaput (E4) took 5th with 1:26:18, Steve Digangi
(F3) placed 6th in 1:26:39, Sean Robinson (C1) was 7th
with 1:27:02, Kyle Cobb (E3) ran a 1:27:05 to place 8th, Bill
Groves (D4) came in 9th with a 1:29:43, Matt Cincotta (F4) took
10th in 1:30:19, John Bassette (C3) finished 12th with
a time of 1:31:25, and Brett Black (B4), who unfortunately was injured on
the course, came in 19th in 1:42:35.
Water Polo Team
Villanova PA
This past weekend constituted the
very first tournament of the season. Not only did the water polo team
compete in one tournament, but we co-hosted and competed in a second
tournament on Sunday. The team played a total of seven games this past
weekend more than usual at any level of play. The first tournament was a
small invitational hosted by Villanova a team that we play every year and
attended by men’s teams from the greater Philadelphia area. The type of
gameplay at this tournament was that of ex-varsity and national-level
players, who competed on the men’s team. Our team, being much younger and in
better shape, carried the advantage when it came to physical ability,
including swimming, endurance, strength, and power. However, where we were
edged out was in the superior skill of the other teams whose players had far
more years of water polo under their belts. In water polo, as in a few other
sports, refereeing can ruin a game and call a close competition in favor of
one team or the other. Sometimes the referees are good, and other times
poor, but we must always remember to try to adapt and come out on top no
matter the circumstances. At the Villanova Invitational Tournament, the
water polo team left with one win and three losses. After four tough games
on Friday night and all throughout Saturday, the water polo team left for
Rutgers to co-host the 2nd Annual Brandon Martin Invitational
a tournament held in honor of former water polo
player Brandon Martin, who died of cancer at age 24, with all of the
proceeds being donated to Cancer Research. The teams that competed in this
tournament were of similar make-up to the Villanova Tournament highly
experienced men’s teams from the East Coast, such as Asphalt Green and
Greenwich. The team played with intensity, especially in the first two
games, even though most players were extremely tired from the previous
tournament. As the games went on, exhaustion became more apparent, and
although everyone played hard, it was difficult to use our physical ability
to our advantage. The superior skills of the men’s teams edged them to
victory in the second and last games of the tournament against the Army
team, leaving us with one win and two losses for the Brandon Martin
Invitational.
Orienteering Team
Rochester NY
19-20 September 2009: The USMA Orienteering Team had a
strong showing at the 2009 US Sprint and Ultra Long Championships, 19-20 Sep
09, at various locations near Rochester, NY. CDT Hannah Burgess (12, B4)
dominated the competition by wining first place in the female 20 year old
and under category in all three races, Sprint (2.2km), Middle distance
(3.5km), and Ultra Long (10km). Christy Masaitis (11, G2) placed third in
her category on the middle distance race. Keith Anderson (12, H2) also had
an excellent weekend and won the male 20 year old and under sprint category
(2.6km) and placed third in his class on the 14km ultra long race. This was
the first nationally sanctioned competition for many of the team’s new
members. Excellent results were achieved by Taylor Hirschey (11, D2), Nolan
Miles (13, B1), Matthew Letarte (11, E3), Jeff Huddle (13, F1), Luke
Hutchison (13, D1), Graham Ziemba (11, C2), Ian Jones (13, C3), and Andrew
Eck (13, H4). Orienteering Teams next competition is the Boulder Dash
A-Meet, Oct. 2-4 2009, Peterborough and Hillsborough, NH.
Cycling Team
Breinigsville PA
The 2009 USMA Cycling team’s cyclo-cross season officially started this past weekend at the Nittany Lion Cross Race on Saturday and the Charm City Cross Race on Sunday. While the full team could not attend due to a limited budget, Senior Joseph Grimm, C4, had a strong showing and represented his team and the academy well. Hampered by nearly last place starting positions in both races, Cadet Grimm fought his way through the huge early season packs to finish in the top 15 on Saturday and top 30 (of nearly 125 competitors) on Sunday. Grimm, like most of the team who will be racing cyclo-cross, is excited for the rest of the season and another chance to see what they’re made of at Nationals. Go Army Cycling!
Judo Team
Newark NJ
West Point Judo travels to Newark for the East Coast Judo Championships: 2
Plebes Go Undefeated One Named Best Female Athlete in the Competition. West
Point Judo athletes won 30 matches collectively and brought home six medals
from the 43rd East Coast Championships. This event is well established and
with outstanding competitors. Matt Song, West Point Judo Captain, stated
that the motivation and team support for each athlete was unparalleled. He
added that West Point Judo athletes went all the way and demonstrated high
conditioning and warrior ethos. In our first tournament of the year, the
team set a mark for what is expected of them this season. The team earned
three bronze medals, one silver medal, and two gold medals. The gold medal
performances belong to plebes Patrick Cronin (C4) and Larisa Tudor (F1).
These athletes went undefeated on their first appearance as West Point Judo
Athletes. Larisa Tudor was named the Most Outstanding Female Athlete of the
Competition, a significant accomplishment for this young Warrior. Other
athletes on the awards podium included: Sang-Won Jung (D2) Silver Medal,
Heather Purkey (E1) Bronze Medal, Brock Chavez (F2) Bronze Medal, and
newcomer Anthony Adez (F2) Bronze medal. West Point Judo is up to a great
start and everyone on the team is looking forward to the rest of the season.
Our next match is at the Naval Academy on October 3rd.
Rugby Team (Women)
Storrs CT
1st XV West Point 74, UConn 0 19 September 2009 Hartford, CT Try Scorers: Sylvia Thomas (Team CPT) 3, Ashley Miller, Kim Shine, Marie Timm, Barbara Lodwick, Jessica Sexauer, Ashley Sorensen, Megan Liesenfelt, Bayle Boggs, Scotia Peterson Conversion: Ashley Miller 7-9, Marie Timm 1-1 Penalty Kicks: None taken Match Notes: It’s tough to say what well need to work on following this match, because anything we tried worked. Our backline did a much better job of recognizing attacking opportunities and communicating that to the halfbacks. At times we saw an improvement in the cleanout at the tackle, but that will need to be more consistent. Marie Timm played her first match at scrumhalf and did very well considering. Her delivery was on, and her awareness and decision making will come with time. Next Match: Yale, 26 SEPT 2009, 1300 KO, Anderson Rugby Complex 2nd XV West Point 49, UConn 0 19 September 2009 Hartford, CT Try Scorers: Scotia Peterson 5, Bayle Boggs 2, Chloe Flores 2 Conversions: Emily McCarthy 2-9
Paintball
Middletown DE
The West Point Paintball team Beat Navy for first place in the National Collegiate Paintball Associations Blue Crab Classic this past weekend. The team entered three squads and coming out of the Pre-lims, Gold Squad was in 1st place and Black Squad was 3rd. The all Plebe Silver squad won two of their 8 games and show a lot of promise for the team’s future. The final game against navy was a best two out of three format with Navy taking the first win on a technical penalty (no Navy players were left on the field at game end!) and West Point took the second game. The third game came down to a one on one match with both players eliminating each other simultaneously, forcing a fourth and final game. West Point swept the field of Navy players in convincing fashion with four Cadets left standing at game end for first place!
