Sources: Arthur DeGroat, 785-532-0369, degroata@k-state.edu;
and Dave Durnil, 785-532-6900, durnil@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Andy Badeker, 785-532-6415, abadeker@k-state.edu
Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007
FORT RILEY COMBATIVES TEAM TURNS K-STATE TRAINING INTO TROPHY
MANHATTAN -- Fort Riley soldiers trained by Kansas State University instructors brought home accolades from the recent All-Army Combatives Championship in Fort Benning, Ga., including an all-Army champion in the 140-pound weight class.
The Fort Riley team finished second overall in competition with 35 other teams representing every major unit in the Army, according to Arthur DeGroat, director of military affairs at K-State. Pfc. Matthew Bray, Virginia Beach, Va., won his weight class. One Fort Riley soldier placed third in his weight class, and two others placed fourth.
"We just did so well," said Dave Durnil, a senior combatives instructor at K-State who accompanied the team to Georgia. "It goes without saying that these are great soldiers."
The competition, which involved more than 200 combatants, was Oct. 13-15. Instructors Alex DiBenedetto and Joe Wilk joined Durnil in preparing the athletes.
The soldiers trained at K-State for eight weeks beforehand, earning two undergraduate credits in the process.
"Our soldier-students' success at this national event validates for me K-State's exceptional ability to teach, coach and mentor young people learning this relevant discipline," DeGroat said.
Although the soldiers enrolled in the same DAS 198 combatives course as other undergraduates, they were in a separate section "because of the intensity of the training," Durnil said, "and some of the techniques they use."
Many of the soldiers already were certified in combatives, Durnil said, so the course served to heighten their readiness for the Georgia event. "They have a mission of being the very best fighters on the entire post, and to train to become the best fighters in the Army."
Fort Riley placed fifth overall in 2005 and second in 2006.
In addition to fostering the connection between K-State and Fort Riley, DeGroat expects a large turnout of civilians next semester: His instructors will offer seven class sections for K-State students in spring 2008.