FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Soldiers from across the 10th Mountain Division endured three days of intense competition June 25-27 during the Mountainfest combatives tournament at Magrath Sports Complex. Competitors postwide participated in seven weight classes -- flyweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, cruiserweight, light-heavyweight and heavyweight.
Each battle ended when a fighter tapped out in submission, the 10-minute limit was reached or when a referee stopped the match. With the exception of a tap out, winners were judged on their technical performance on a point system -- the Soldier with the greatest number of points at the end of the match won.
Safety is always a concern at physically intensive events like combatives, and the tournament this year was no exception.
"For this tournament, we are only using standard rules; last tournament, we used standard and went to
intermediate, which is slaps, open-hand slaps and close hits to the body," said 1st Sgt. Curtis Mosely, 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, and chief of referees for the tournament.
Judges and senior leaders wanted to ensure competitors would not sustain severe injuries, Mosely added.
Preparation and training started long before the tournament began. For many of the Soldier-fighters in the tournament, mixed martial arts and wrestling came natural after many years of consistent training.
"I wrestled for nine years and trained at Jiu Jitsu Nation," said 1st Lt. Lucas Plath, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
Along with intense groundwork, a good strategy is necessary, but each strategy is as individual as the Soldier.
"Mix it up, get a good ground game," said Plath, who won the light-heavyweight class.
More than 70 Soldiers participated in the tournament this year, Mosely said. He added that the large turnout was due, in part, to all three infantry brigade combat teams being home.
The competitive spirit and determination to win drove seven Soldiers to medal in their weight class and earn the right to wear their medals proudly.
The top competitors in each class were as follows:
-Flyweight - Pvt. Andrew Luna, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.
-Lightweight - Pvt. Mathew Sanders, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
-Welterweight - Spc. Scott Kelly, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
-Middleweight - Sgt. Bradley Downing, 62nd Military Police Detachment (CID).
-Cruiserweight - Capt. Nicolas Ouimet, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
-Light-heavyweight - 1st Lt. Lucas Plath, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
-Heavyweight - Spc. Carlie Williams, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
Maj. Gen. Mark A. Milley, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (LI) commander, and Division Command Sgt. Maj. Rick Merritt attended the closing ceremony to present awards and offer congratulations.
"Mountainfest this year is the first time since 1985 where we've had all three infantry brigades,
the aviation brigade, all the other Fort Drum units and most of the sustainment brigade -- minus 1,300 Soldiers currently deployed -- all here at Fort Drum," Milley said. "That's a big deal in three decades."
"The purpose of Mountainfest and last week's Riverfest is to impart and celebrate the history of this great division," he added, also reminding the Soldiers of their connection to history and the bonds connecting Soldiers of past and present.
"It's about connecting our division of today to the divisions of World War II and everything in
between. It's about celebrating the warrior spirit; it's about the camaraderie of this division as it
always has been and currently is," he said.
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