75th Ranger Regiment Teams Sweep Top 4 Spots At Best Ranger Competition

Four teams from the 75th Ranger Regiment posted a sweep of the top four places in the 38th annual David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Georgia. A fifth team representing the 75th came in sixth.

The team of Joshua Corson and Tymothy Boyle, both captains in the 75th, took first place, ahead of Sgt. Nathan Buck and Sgt. Enrique Caballero, who were second. Staff Sgt. John Goldsmith and Spc. Kory Fogarty were third. Sgt. Jonathan Deguzman and Sgt. Alex Mauch placed fourth.

A team from Training and Doctrine Command took fifth to break up a full sweep.

The second best showing may have come from the 101st Airborne Division, whose teams took 10th, 11th, and 13th place.

Considered one of the Army’s showpiece competitions between soldiers and major units, the annual three-day competition tests a wide range of combat skills, including long-distance runs and ruck marches, land navigation, small-arms marksmanship and mortar employment, medical skills, high-angle rope techniques, and even a Ranger history quiz.

Corson and Boyle were at or near the top of nearly every event over the three days, winning two of the three individual team awards. The pair were named winners of both the Captain Russell B. Rippetoe Trophy for best ruck march time and the Moore-Van Aalst Marksmanship Award for the top shooting score.

Maj. Jeffery Dannemiller and 1st Lt. Daniel Frasch of the 3rd Infantry Division took home the Dick Leandri Award for best overall land navigation scores. The pair finished 15th overall.

Though aimed squarely at skills at the core of duty in the 75th Ranger Regiment, a sweep of the top places is uncommon. This year’s Best Ranger Competition drew 51 teams of Ranger-qualified soldiers from across the Army, including teams representing all major infantry divisions, the Guard and Reserve, regional components, and training commands.

Since 1994, teams from Ranger Regiment or Ranger training units have won just over half of the Best Ranger titles. Soldiers from the Army’s Special Operations Command won three straight titles from 2010 to 2012, including then-Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Payne in 2012, who was subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for a 2015 hostage rescue mission. All five USASOC teams in this year’s event were eliminated on the first day of the competition.

Coffee or Die’s Noelle Wiehe contributed to this report.

Top 20 Final Standings:

1. 75th Ranger Regiment — Capt. Joshua Corson/Capt. Tymothy Boyle
2. 75th Ranger Regiment — Sgt. Nathan Buck/Sgt. Enrique Caballero
3. 75th Ranger Regiment — Staff Sgt. John Goldsmith/Spc. Kory Fogarty
4. 75th Ranger Regiment — Sgt. Jonathan Deguzman/Sgt. Alex Mauch
5. Training and Doctrine Command — Maj. Michael Blanchard/Maj. Brian Slamkowski
6. 75th Ranger Regiment — Capt. James Moore/Capt. (Air Force) Reace Hudgeons
7. 4th Infantry Division — 1st Lt. Kevin Spellacy/Staff Sgt. Ethan Danielson
8. Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade (ARTB) — Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Van Horn/Staff Sgt. Nicholas Whitney
9. US Military Academy — Maj. John Baer/Maj. Matthew Snyder
10. 101st Airborne Division — 1st Lt. Matthew McKenzie/1st Lt. Michael Singer
11. 101st Airborne Division — 1st Lt. Nicholas Chatel/1st Lt. John Greer
12. 3rd Infantry Regiment — 1st Lt. Eric Savini/Staff Sgt. Joshua Abrahante
13. 101st Airborne Division —  1st Lt. Aaron Arturi/1st Lt. John Ryan
14. ARTB — Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Peterson/Staff Sgt. Robert McCain
15. 3rd Infantry Division — Maj. Jeffery Dannemiller/1st Lt. Daniel Frasch
16. ARTB — Capt. William Gerhardt/Staff Sgt. Charles Kulakowski
17. National Guard — 1st Lt. Jose Gutierrez/Staff Sgt. Michael Browne
18. 82nd Airborne Division — Staff Sgt. Haden Smith/1st Lt. Evan Collier
19. 10th Mountain Division — Sgt. Jeremy Ronzo/1st Lt. Patrick Cosgrove
20. 82nd Airborne Division — Sgt. Jack Bowker/Sgt. John Eason

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