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172nd BCT sweeps Climb to Glory Relay
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Camp Victory, Iraq – Soldiers from Multi National Division - Center participated in the first ever 10-mile Combat Relay organized by the 10th Mountain Division communications section Feb. 15 here.
The event drew a wide variety of teams from both MND-C as well as several teams from Multi National Corps - Iraq, including an all female team, four Coalition teams, a civilian contractor team, and several multi-service teams.
Teams came from Forward Operation Bases all over the MND-C area of operation to take part in the event.
More than 60 five-Soldier teams competed in the event wearing boots, uniform and a 30-pound rucksack while carrying an M-16 or M-4 rifle. Each member of the teams ran a two-mile leg of the course that included two obstacles; a set of three concrete barriers and a water hazard.
Finishing in first and second place were rival teams from the 172nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
First place went to a team from 1-2 Infantry Battalion, consisting of Capt. Brian Weighman, from Eden, Vt., 1st Lt. Michael Miller, from Warrganseth, R.I., 1st Lt. Leon Lee, from Toorene, Calif., 1st Lt. Seann Kim, from Chicago, Ill. and Sgt. Karl Wiger, from Falcon Height, Minn.
During the final leg of the relay Kim and 1st Lt. Ryan Cournia, a member of the second place team, were in a all out battle for the first place finish.
“I lead for a while, then he led for a while, and we just kept going back and forth. The whole way was cat and mouse,” said Cournia. “When we hit the final stretch we were pretty much neck and neck. I kept waiting for him to kick it up and he kept waiting for me to kick it up, then he finally did and I realized I couldn’t keep up. He is really fast.
Their finishing times were just two seconds apart, with the first team coming in at 1 hour 21 minutes and 5 seconds and the second at 1:21:7.
Each competitor on the teams with the five best cumulative times received a trophy. All the other participants received a t-shirt to commemorate the relay.
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