It was a banner weekend for the West Point Grappling/MMA team as they competed in the Grapplers Quest national tournament in Wildwood, NJ.
CDT Travis “The Train” Anderson, 2010, finished in spectacular 1st place fashion in the Intermediate middle weight division. Travis submitted every opponent in his weight class to take home the gold. Travis also finished 3rd place in the Absolute (all weight class combined) Intermediate division.
The Team Captain CDT Christian Pierce, 2010, finished 3rd place in the Blue Belt division as a white belt. Christian also was voted by the club OIC and coach as having the submission of night, when he made one of his opponents tap due to the execution of a beautiful helicopter knee bar with less than 10 seconds left in the round to pull a come from behind victory.
CDT Bobby Thompson, 2011, proved once again that he is a force to be reckoned with as he took 1st place in the featherweight beginner division due to his ability to takedown his opponent’s at will and then out position them on the ground.
CDT Will Nagy, 2011, finished an impressive 2nd place in the beginner light heavy weight division. Will was slated to compete in another division but was sidelined after his knee began giving him problems after his 2nd place finish.
CDT Justin Crose, 2012, demonstrated that the team would be in good hands for years to come as he finished 2nd place in the novice flyweight division. Justin competed in one of the largest divisions at the tournament, and had to undertake many fights to bring home the silver. His 2nd place finish was a direct result of his superior skill, fitness level, and toughness.
Not to be outdone by the cadets the team OIC MAJ Jimmy Smith finished 3rd in the light Heavy weight executive (old man’s) division and first in the beginners light heavy weight division. The trip was a tremendous success and the team had a great time!
- A special thanks to Team Coach John Shireman for writing this article!
I heard these guys only get to practice twice a week. If thats true it would be amazing to see how awesome they would due training 5 days a week or as much as the guys they compete against.
I go up and grapple with these guys every now and then and they kick my ass. Their also great guys and make an extremely cohesive team. Christian Pierce is THE MAN, and one heck of a guy too.
If any terrorists get within an arm’s reach of any of these guys once their graduated… ouch
It seems like these guys are holding it down for West Point. Go Army! It almost seems to me that the Army is falling behind the Marines (branch of the Navy…yuck) in MMA related activities. It would be nice to see more Army guys participating in MMA, grappling, or other competitive martial art forms seeing as it is a pretty relevant skill to have as a soldier. Of course that would require support from higher! This isnt a problem for the Russians or the Navy… can’t see why the Army can’t start fighting more too.
That Bobby Thompson kid is the real deal! I heard that Dana White has his eye on him…
I want to congratulate all of the cadets that participated and all of the cadets that sacrifice there own time each week to come out and train with the team. Coach John Shireman is one hell of a coach. Lastly, thanks to Ranger Up for supporting our team’s success. One day, submission grappling will get the same respect as other combat sports. Keep up the great work Tap, Snap or Nap!