KU Army ROTC sweeps 1st place at 2024 Regional Leavenworth Ranger Challenge Competition

Three rows of KU Army ROTC cadets seated and standing in group photo.

KU Army ROTC participants from the 2024 Task Force Leavenworth Ranger Challenge competition: Rear standing, left to right: Jailynn Taylor, Paola; Hayden Shriver, Topeka; Taylor Reboulet, Olathe; Jaden Murff, Overland Park; Wesley Clarkson, Tonganoxie; Will Rues, LaCrosse; Elijah Mortensen, Leavenworth; Braxton Camp, Andale; Micah Mortensen, Leavenworth. Middle standing, left to right: Sophia Mendus, Lenexa; Ben Gomez, Lansing; Bilhah Bengi, Wichita; Ben Nash, Shawnee; Braden Welter, Normal, Illinois; Jakob Lord, Oskaloosa. Kneeling, left to right: Alex Rogers, Shawnee; Cayden Smith, Leavenworth; Nate Lundgren, Olathe.

Tue, 10/22/2024

Keely Persinger

LAWRENCE — Both University of Kansas Army ROTC Ranger Challenge teams took first place at the 2024 Task Force Leavenworth Ranger Challenge competition at Fort Leavenworth, held Oct. 11-13. Led by Capt. Alex Rogers, this year’s team motto for the competition was “every Inch,” and that motto proved true as KU’s 11-person team won by just 1 point.

“It goes to show how important all those inches were,” Rogers said after the competition.

Cadet Ben Gomez roots on teammates Nate Lundgren, Olathe, and Hayden Shriver, Topeka, as they carry a stretcher. — Cadet Ben Gomez roots on teammates Nate Lundgren, Olathe, and Hayden Shriver, Topeka.

Ranger Challenge is a grueling two-day competition designed to test the mettle of warrior athletes by challenging them physically and mentally through a series of infantry ranger tasks. This year's event, hosted by KU, saw participation from eight 11-person teams and eight 7-person teams representing nine ROTC programs: Creighton University, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, Kansas State University, Missouri Western University, Pittsburg State/Wichita State University, KU, University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Northern Iowa.

The Task Force competition serves as a critical qualifier to determine which teams earn the opportunity to compete at the Sandhurst competition hosted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

KU’s 11-person team led by Rogers, a junior from Shawnee, was made up of sophomore Braxton Camp, Andale; sophomore Wesley Clarkson, Tonganoxie; sophomore Benjamin Gomez, Lansing; junior Sophia Mendus, Lenexa; sophomore Elijah Mortensen, Leavenworth; junior Jaden Murff, Overland Park; junior Ben Nash, Shawnee; sophomore Taylor Reboulet, Olathe; junior Will Rues, La Crosse; and freshman Cayden Smith, Leavenworth.

Cadets Jakob Lord, Oskaloosa, and Nate Lundgren, Olathe, carry heavy equipment on their shoulders on a sunny road. — Cadets Jakob Lord, Oskaloosa, and Nate Lundgren, Olathe.

The seven-person team, led by team captain Nate Lundgren, a junior from Olathe, featured junior Bilhah Bengi, Wichita; sophomore Jakob Lord, Oskaloosa; freshman Micah Mortensen, Leavenworth; freshman Hayden Shriver, Topeka; freshman Jailynn Taylor, Paola; and freshman Braden Welter, Normal, Illinois.

Over two days, teams competed in 11 different events, such as a written test, swim relay, fitness challenge, weapons assembly/disassembly, medical care and a 13.8-mile ruck march. By the time it was over, cadets swam, ran, walked or lunged their way over 20 miles of competition.

KU won both the 11-person and 7-person team categories, the result of rigorous training that began before school officially started and continued up until the day of the competition.

“The training process was different this year, to say the least,” Rogers said. “A lot of people thought I was crazy with the workouts I was putting these people through. Carrying 110 pounds on a ruck, 45-pound plate runs, and buddy carries up the Campanile had my people asking me, ‘Why?’ Shortly after the competition, they all said, ‘Thank you.’ We were far more prepared for the physical portions of this competition than many teams.”

With the win at the task force level, these team members will continue their training to move on to the Brigade level challenge Nov. 14-16 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.