Photo By Christine Cabalo | The top three winners of the base’s preliminary match for the High Intensity...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Marines competed for a chance at the top title for the High Intensity Tactical Training Tactical Athlete Competition at Riseley Field, July 29, 2015.
Sgt. David Williams, of Indianapolis, claimed the most points for first place. He is invited to join other top athletes chosen from every participating Marine Corps installation. Those who win the preliminary match for their installation are invited to compete in the finals scheduled Sept. 16, 2015 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.
“I kept up my regular routine to prep for this,” said Williams, a noncommissioned officer in charge of the administration section at Headquarters and Service Battalion at Camp H.M. Smith. “Our unit does a lot of CrossFit (exercise) with our unit commander (Col. Darric Knight). We do things like medicine ball runs.”
Those skills helped Williams take first place after competing in several events including a kneeling medicine ball throw, standing broad jump and a kettlebell/burpee challenge. Each participant was awarded points based on how fast or far they traveled, with Williams’ score adding up to a first-place win. The events tested power, speed, agility and other physical qualities brought out by a good HITT regimen.
“All of the events (in the competition) require skill,” said Jon Shiota, the manager of Semper Fit Center at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, who helped officiate the match. “It’s a matter of who can do it the (best).”
The best from Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Headquarters Marine Corps and all other Corps installations are in the process of competing so their top representatives to go to the finals, said Edmundo Rangel Jr., the HITT coordinator at MCAGCC Twentynine Palms. His installation has scheduled three preliminaries for choosing their top athletes.
“We have a lot of training exercises,” he said. “We’ve got Marines who are out in the field who won’t be in at certain times we’re hosting a prelim. So we’ve scheduled extra time for them.”
Although both male and female athletes could sign up, only male contestants came to compete at Kaneohe Bay this year. Each event tested a different aspect of fitness, but Shiota said one contest event in particular stood out.
“The 400-yard tactical course is I think the most challenging of all the events,” he said. “It is really physically demanding.”
Participants needed to complete four tasks, each 100 yards, back-to-back at the fastest time. In 100-yard increments they needed to run a sprint, flip a heavy tire, complete a fireman’s carry and take a sandbag weighing more than 60 pounds across the field.
Flipping a heavy tire for 100 yards was one of the most challenging events for competitor Sgt. Devon Moore, a euphonium player for the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Band.
“I was thinking ‘Don’t stop,’” said Moore of Indianapolis. “I set a pace to keep consistently and remembered to breathe.”
Although he’s done several similar challenges, the competition was the first time Williams had flipped a tire so big and for that long of a distance.
“This was the most challenging because you really needed to use your legs more to flip it, doing a lot of squats,” Williams said.
All participants pushed their limits, but each still found time to support and cheer for each other between events. Both Moore and Williams knew each other and played football together back in their hometown, giving each other encouragement throughout the contest.
After receiving his first place medal, Williams offered a friendly warning to his potential competitors during the finals in September.
“Watch out for Hawaii,” Williams said.
| Date Taken: | 07.29.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2015 21:08 |
| Story ID: | 171673 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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