The U.S. Military Academy at West Point Combat Weapons Team defended their title for the third year in a row at the SIG Relentless Warrior Challenge, held Friday, April 7, through Saturday, April 8, at the SIG Sauer Academy in Epping, New Hampshire.
To earn the honor of 2023 SIG Relentless Warrior Champion, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point team was buoyed by six cadets that all posted scores placing them in the top 10 individual standings: Leon Ward (275.76), James Baker (286.69), Ian Bickerton (304.90), Sam Baldwin (313.89), John Bordes (318.86) and John McDowell (324.76).
More than 100 cadets from the United States Air Force Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy, United States Military Academy at West Point, Norwich University, Texas A&M, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech and the Royal Military College of Canada competed in the 2023 SIG Relentless Warrior Championship.
The course of fire consisted of six mission stages that tested the marksmanship and leadership skills of our future military officers.
“The SIG Sauer Relentless Warrior Championship serves as the capstone event for our club’s training throughout the year,” Maj. Sean Marquis, the officer-in-charge of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Combat Weapons Team, said. “It provides a unique test of shooting ability, physical agility and problem-solving while engaging with peers from other service academies, senior ROTC programs and allied nations. SIG’s superb facilities and world-class staff make this an unforgettable experience.”
“The goal of the Combat Weapons Team is to develop highly proficient shooters, leaders and instructors. From the moment a cadet joins the team, they begin an immersion into understanding firearms, the principles of marksmanship, physical fitness, mindset, combat shooting, accuracy, speed and tactics,” said Gary Salman, the head coach of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point Combat Weapons Team. “This cross-training of disciplines helps mold them into amazing tactical and competitive shooters. Every new season, we train with the intention of embracing the SIG Relentless Warrior mindset. This mindset helps instill the goals we have as a cohesive team. I am so proud of the accomplishments of our entire team, especially some of our new members who have never participated in a competition before. Thank you to SIG for providing this amazing opportunity to compete and bring together so many like-minded individuals who may someday be fighting side by side.”
Additional top awards for the 2023 SIG Relentless Warrior Championship are as follows:
TOP GUN
- Leon Ward, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 275.76
HIGH LADY
- Uta Givens, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, 412.62
TOP SHOT: Awarded to the best shooter from each participating school.
- U.S. Air Force Academy: Jeremy Kappel,394.69
- U.S. Coast Guard Academy: Thomas Hughes Gill, 365.11
- U.S. Naval Academy: Jaimeson Hamsho, 278.43
- U.S. Military Academy at West Point: Leon Ward, 275.76
- Norwich University: Ryan Cranston, 659.20
- Texas A&M: Chance De Vos, 325.34
- Virginia Military Institute: Kevin Ryan, 353.12
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute: Christopher Campione, 329.15
- Royal Military College of Canada: Samuel Payne, 467.95
You can see the full results of the 2023 SIG Relentless Warrior Championship at the Practiscore website. Also, the SIG Sauer Academy produced a YouTube video featuring the competition that you can watch here.
