DCA Update - Extracurricular Clubs

Director’s Notes — An Inside Look

Although it does not seem like it, spring is hiding around here somewhere. Here in DCA Land, spring is full of activities and many exciting opportunities for the cadets and everyone involved in DCA’s Extracurricular Clubs and programs.
This past week, many of our clubs had the chance to compete in their respective National Championships. Our Mountaineering Club won first place in the Northeast Regional Championships; the Pistol Team took first place in the National Intercollegiate Pistol Championships; three members of the Equestrian Team qualified for Zone Championships; and Paintball beat Navy! Several of our clubs are gearing up to compete in their National Championships in the near future, to include: Taekwondo, Men’s Team Handball, Women’s Team Handball, and Kendo. As they go forward to compete, we wish them the best of luck!

Competitive Clubs

Team Handball (Men):

• On 28 March, the Men’s Team Handball Club traveled to NYC, to play games against other teams in the Northeast League
• These games provided the team with competitive experience, as well as the opportunity to earn a place in the Elite Division of the annual Club National Championship Tournament, which is being held in York, PA, this year
• Gold kicked off the afternoon with a loss to the defending National Champions, New York City Handball Club
• The Black team then battled back from an early deficit against Boston HC, to secure its first win of the weekend
• Firstie Goalie CDT David Brown played an excellent second half that made the team’s comeback much more manageable
• The Black team then played a close game against NYC, but fell to the more experienced team
• On Sunday, the NYC 2 team made the drive up to West Point to play both the Gold and Black West Point Squads
• Both teams defeated NYC 2 in what was the last official game at Arvin for the Firsties on the team
• This weekend, the entire team will be traveling to Auburn University, home of the Handball Olympic Training Center, to defend its college National Championship title

Team Handball (Women’s):

• This past weekend, West Point’s Women’s Team Handball hosted its annual home tournament, played in honor of 1LT Laura Walker (‘03)
• The tournament opened Saturday morning with a ceremony honoring 1LT Walker’s legacy, which continues to impact the team
• West Point Black kicked off the tournament with a fast start and secured wins against Boston Team Handball and UNC
• Black played New York City in their third match that day, and lost by one point after an intense back and forth match
• Seeking revenge, Black won their remaining pool play games the next day in order to earn the right to rematch NYC in the final bout; however, at the last minute of the game, the team fell short, losing by one goal
• The Black team won second overall in the tournament; West Point gold placed fifth overall

Climbing (Mountaineering):

• On 28 March, the West Point Climbing Team traveled to Half-moon, NY, to compete in the Collegiate Climbing Series’ North-east Regional Championship
• Four straight hours of dominant climbing in all disciplines, including: Bouldering, Top Roping, and Speed Climbing, earned the team first place in the largest, most competitive region in the nation
• Other schools that competed included Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell, RIT, and Rutgers
• The top performers were CDTs Zhaina Myrzkhanova (‘16), who placed 1st in Speed and 3rd in Ropes, and CDT Julian Barker (‘16), who took 2nd in both Bouldering and Ropes
• This marks the Climbing Team’s 3rd straight Regional Championship, and they now look forward to the National Championships that take place in San Diego, CA, on 17-18 April

Boxing (Women’s):

• On 28 March, the West Point Women’s Boxing Team traveled to Church Street Boxing Gym in New York, NY, to conduct additional training with the team’s coach, Coach Jenaro Diaz
• The overall goal of the trip was to allow the team to spar with a greater variety of opponents with varying skill levels
• Upon arrival to Church Street Gym, the team conducted warm-ups and practiced with Coach Diaz while they waited to begin sparring
• CDT Sarah Gould (‘16), CDT Joyce Wu (‘16), CDT Richelle Radcliff (‘18), CDT Janelle Bass (‘16) and CDT Michelle Lopez (‘17) all got the chance to work in the ring
• Each boxer did three, three minute rounds with one of two high level amateur boxers
• The team gained experience with the more skilled and diverse sessions, and learned some valuable lessons in defense and ring movement, as well as how to respond to and deliver body punches
• When each boxer finished, they continued to work with Coach Diaz on mitting and movement, or worked on the various apparatuses available in the gym
• Once the training session finished, the group helped set up for a tournament that took place at the gym later that evening
• Seeing the variety of technique and intensity of the fighters in the tournament benefited the team greatly

Equestrian:

• On 28 March, a few members of the West Point Equestrian Team competed in the Regional Championships at Crosswinds Farm in Lagrangeville, NY, hosted by Marist College
• Due to the fact that their indoor ring was being renovated, the show was held outdoors; despite the heavy snow, our riders rode amazingly
• The team had three qualifiers for Zone Championships coming up this weekend, to include CDT Holly Rodeo, CDT Crystel Calderon and CDT Jared Ross
• CDT Rodeo placed 2nd in her class of intermediate flat; CDT Jared Ross placed 2nd in his class of walk/trot; CDT Crystel Calderon placed 3rd in her class of walk/trot
• CDT Dillon Curtis placed 7th in his class of open jumping,; CDT Madeline Arnold placed 4th in her class of inter-mediate flat, and 7th in her class of intermediate jumping
• The team competed against Centenary, Bard, Marist, Drew, William Paterson, SUNY New Paltz, Sarah Lawerence, Stevens Institute of Technology, Kutztown, and Vassar

Orienteering:

• On 28 and 29 March, the West Point Orienteering Team at-tended the U.S. Individual Championships Orienteering Meet at Carter Caves State Park, in Northern Kentucky
• Seven cadets and one officer competed in this race alongside hundreds of civilian competitors, including numerous graduates and former members of the West Point Orienteering Team
• This event helped prepare junior members of the team to get one step closer to International competitions and selections to the U.S. Juniors team

Marathon:

• On 29 March, over 800 people participated in the West Point Half Marathon-Fallen Comrades Run, making 2015 the largest turnout in the five years of the event
• The Fallen Comrades Run is an annual event hosted by the West Point Marathon Team that honors the West Point graduates who have gone to war and gave the ultimate sacrifice
• Amongst the participants were members of the West Point Marathon Team, the Naval Academy Marathon Team, NYPD, and the New York City Fire Department (FDNY)
• The West Point Marathon Team had a strong showing with CDTs Danny Schlich, Chris Boyle, Connor Roche, and Jen Moore placing 1st, 2nd, 5th and 86th overall; also, securing an easy win over the Navy Marathon Team

Hobby Clubs

Paintball:

• On 28 March, the West Point Paintball Team traveled to Chesapeake City, MD, to compete in the spring conference tournament for the National Collegiate Paintball Association
• The team went 3-3 in the tournament, winning two matches against the United States Naval Academy, and defeating Northeastern University
• The team’s record should move them into second place in the conference leading into the National Championship Tournament on 17-19 April in Lakeland, FL
• The event began with the first Army-Navy paintball game in more than five years; other teams that Army faced were Temple University, Northeastern University, the University of Connecticut, and Penn State University
• The team is now poised to do well at the National Championship Tournament, and hopes to keep the Service Academy winning streak alive, as they will square off against both the Air Force Academy and Navy once again

Diversity Clubs

Chinese Club & Korean-American Relations Seminar Club:

• On 26 March, Brigadier General R. Mark Toy took the time to meet with the cadets from the Chinese Club and the Korean-American Relations Seminar
• BG Toy is the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific Division
• BG Toy spoke to the cadets about leadership, finding good men-tors, and some of the different opportunities there are as an officer

National Society of Black Engineers:

• On 25 March, sixteen cadets from the National Society of Black Engineers traveled to Anaheim, CA, to attend the Annual NSBE Convention
• While there, the cadets also supported the West Point Society of Los Angeles’ first ever Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in STEM Conference
• Also, the cadets got to conduct an offsite visit at NBC Universal Studios, where they were given a tour of the production facility, and did a walk through of one their premier attraction’s design

Military Clubs

Pistol:

• On 21 March, the West Point Pistol Team traveled to Ft. Benning, GA, to compete in the Scholastic Pistol Pro-gram National Intercollegiate Pistol Championships where they won first place
• Army dominated the competition from the beginning, winning all four categories: top individual-rimfire, top team-rimfire, top individual-centerfire, and top team-centerfire
• CDT Jeffery Schanz won the gold medal as the top individual in the rimfire division; he, along with teammates CDT Jack Fagerland, CDT Dillon Schaaf, and CDT Travis Moody, won the rimfire team gold medal
• CDT Anthony Veith won the individual gold medal in the centerfire division; he, along with teammates CDT Mark Lister, CDT Dashiel Andrews, and CDT Mitchell Booth, won the centerfire team gold medal
• Competitors may compete for only two years in the rimfire division, and then must move to the centerfire division
• Army defeated teams from eight other colleges, including Texas A&M, last years National Champion

Religious Clubs

Catholic Chapel Choir:

• On 24 March, the Cadet Catholic Chapel Choir, led by CDT Gabe Palma, traveled with ten cadets to Washington, D.C., for the second consecutive year to perform at the Chrism Mass for the Archdiocese for the Military Services
• His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, celebrated the annual Chrism Mass in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the Shrine of Immaculate Conception
• The Chrism Mass is held once a year to bless the oils that will be used for Baptisms and other sacraments through-out the coming year at military installations, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, and other locations around the world
• The Cadets per-formed with the professional choir from the National Basilica and witnessed a liturgy normally re-served for only the clergy of the Diocese
• In addition, all cadets were hosted at the seminary of the Carmelite Order in Washington, D.C., and had a chance to experience a day in the life of a religious order

DCA Happenings

Upcoming Book Store Book Signings

Bill Quatman, author of A Young General and the Fall of Richmond - 6 April @ 1:30 - 3:30

RET GEN Richard Lynch, author of Adapt or Die - 15 April @ 09:30-11:30

Emma Sky, author of The Unraveling - 16 April @ 09:30 - 11:30

The Book Store supported the War on Ethics Conference held at Jefferson Library on 27 March