The echoing sounds of clicking heels and shouted commands reverberated inside the McClain Center as the University of Wisconsin’s Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit held their 34th annual invitational drill meet Saturday.
A dozen schools participated in the competition, including UW’s own Air Force ROTC unit, said Midshipman Ryan Clark, the unit’s public affairs officer. Other units came from several other states across the country.
In the 34 year history of the invitational UW always hosted the event, Clark said.
The competition consists of sailing, armed regulation drill, rifle and pistol shooting, and the Urban Adventure Race, which is a around Madison’s cityscape.
At the McClane center, the drill pad, marked by orange cones, was surrounded by spectators and competitors. The three team events – color guard, armed platoon drill and armed squad drill – were held on the pad. Naval personnel graded the teams.
As one team executed their movements with precision, the rest of the unit stood on the sidelines, respectfully cheering them on. In the staging area, the teams who had yet to compete watched the events anxiously.
“The drill teams for UW were selected via tryouts,” Clark said. “For our teams, we tried to recruit as many freshmen as we could to compete because we wanted them to experience firsthand what being in a competition is like.”
A few blocks away from the McClane Center at the Naval Science building, the Urban Adventure Race began and finished.
The Urban Adventure Race is a 13.5-mile run around Madison, Clark said. The course starts from the unit headquarters, to the Capitol, back toward UW Hospital and Clinics, before finally ending back at the Department Naval Science Building.
“Last year, the winning team of the race took four hours to finish.” Clark said.
Even the cold, drizzly weather could not stop the teams from giving their best. This year, the teams from UW – Wisconsin #1 and Wisconsin #3 – managed to grab both first and second place, respectively, in the Urban Adventure Race.
Zach Geelan, a junior at UW and a member of the winning team, said “Winning felt very good – I’ve taken part in the UAR before, and in the past I’ve gotten 3rd place and 4th place, but this is the first time getting 1st place.”
He, along with his team members, practiced PT – naval shorthand for physical training – five days a week in preparation for the event. It took the team four hours and eight minutes to finish the race, which was on par with the results from last year.
“It feels great to have our unit take both 1st and 2nd place. I think it shows how strong we are as a unit.” He added.
Nate Williams, a senior at UW and a member of the second-place team, said that it felt great to have the unit go 1-2 in the event. “I think it’s one of the hardest events we have, and we did team workouts at least three times a week,” he said. “I think it paid off.”
