Newcomer team named Best Ranger
At the end of the competition, scores from all of the events were tallied to determine team rankings — and a team of newcomers came out on top.
Team 40 — First Lt. Andrew Winski and Sgt. Matthew Dunphy — earned the highest cumulative marks out of all 56 teams, granting them the title of Best Ranger. Among more than 100 competitors, Winski had the highest marks on marksmanship.
Both first-time competitors, the duo represented the 75th Ranger Regiment, marking the fourth year in a row that members of the unit won the competition.
“It means a lot to me, mostly for my partner, I didn’t want to let him down, and we didn’t want to let the regiment down,” Winski said after completing the buddy run event.
Winski said he was “truly grateful” for the opportunity to participate in the competition and show “what the Army’s Ranger Regiment is and … what kind of Rangers we produce.”
Gen. James Mingus, the Army’s vice chief of staff, acknowledged that completing the competition is no small feat.
“At the end of the day, the physical, mental — all those things have got to come together in a technical way,” Mingus said during the awards ceremony after the competition. “You have to be a master at your craft, you have to be at the top of your game physically and intellectually and mentally, which sets this apart from, I think, any other long endurance event that’s out there.”
