FORT BENNING, Ga., (Dec. 17, 2014) -- One hundred and twenty Soldiers competed in an Ironman-style competition Dec. 9 on Stewart Watson Field.
The World Wrestling Entertainment and Maneuver Captains Career Course Fitness Throwdown, as it was named, was a unique event put on for the WWE visit, said Matt Russell, one of the event planners and coordinators.
"We had the opportunity for the superstars to come out and watch as units all across Fort Benning compete in a fitness challenge ... to showcase physical fitness (and camaraderie) across the post and all the great athletes we have here," he said.
Blake Richter, lead event planner and coordinator, said wrestlers such as Daniel Bryan, Sgt. Slaughter, Jack Swagger, Jimmy Hart and Titus O'Neil were present.
Russell said competitors were divided into 12 heats of 10.
"We staggered them every four minutes just so they wouldn't get hung up at any stations," he said.
Russell said there were 13 stations that included deadlifts, pushups, burpees, box jumps, squats, kettle bell swings, water can carries and a couple of laps around the track.
The WWE superstars went around and visited all the stations to offered encouragement, presented trophies to the top three female and male finishers, signed autographs and posed for pictures, he said.
"It's amazing to see how good of shape a lot of these people are in," Bryan said. "They are out here in the freezing cold just running, working out and working hard ... . "
Bryan gave a run down of the stations and repetitions the competitors went through.
"I watched a man do 15 pullups in a row after doing all that, I was like 'oh my gosh,'" he said. "I just couldn't physically do it. It's awesome. It seems like everybody's having fun."
Bryan said a "neat thing" about this competition is he gets to see motivation in action and though they were there to boost the competitors, he said it was actually worked in reverse.
"Watching this is inspiring to us," he said.
Bryan said he believes Tribute to the Troops is the "coolest thing" WWE does all year.
"A lot of people don't understand what the people who defend our country are actually doing and what it takes to be a part of the military ... I think this is something everybody should see at ... some point - the way these Soldiers train ... I think that's important," he said.
Slaughter said they have been all over the country and he is honored to be here and to have watched the competition.
"It kind of lets you know that we are in good hands when you see young Soldiers ... (go) through the competition (with) some pretty good times, especially with the weather the way it is," he said.
Slaughter said seeing the physicality applied was incredible, which caused him to reminisce about his time in the ring and express appreciation.
Something that ties Slaughter to Benning is his nephew's memorial, a Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan.
"I am just very happy to be here and be a part of it, give a salute to all the Soldiers out there and thank them for their service," he said.
Top female finisher Kristina Gscheidle, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment, said her win wasn't expected, but that she was excited to get a good workout in and to challenge herself.
Gscheidle said the stations in the competition were similar to her workout regimen and though it felt like a normal day of physical training, she deemed it interesting to see celebrities cheering everyone on.
She said the morning was cold, exciting and thought the encouragement from her competitors was "pretty cool."
Gscheidle said burpees was the most difficult for her.
"It's probably just a mental thing," Gscheidle said. "A lot of people don't like burpees, I guess."
She said at the beginning her legs froze up while running, which slowed her down, but came back when she reached the deadlift station.
"When I got there I was starting to pass everybody," she said. "(Because) I have good upper body strength and a strong back I was able to hammer through those really fast."
Top male finisher, Mark Gaudet, MCCC, Seminar 5, Team 1, said in the practice round he was one of the graders and didn't expect to compete in the actual competition; however when he found out he was competing, he expected to finish first.
Gaudet said he and three other guys he competed with have been working out three to four times a week for two to three hours preparing for the Best Ranger Competition.
The toughest station for him, he said, was burpees because they followed immediately after pushups and the frozen ground didn't help either. However, he said the two running stations worked in his favor.
Though Gaudet said he isn't much of a wrestling fan, he thought it was nice to meet the wrestlers who went out to the competition and appreciated their support.
TOP THREE FEMALE FINISHERS:
1. Kristina Gscheidle, 1-507 PIR, 28:30:00
2. Stacia Brown, MEDDAC, 30:01:00
3. Theresa Wiebold, 1-507 PIR, 30:11:00
TOP THREE MALE FINISHERS:
1. Mark Gaudet, MCCC, 22:10:00
2. Vince Demarest, Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course, 22:40:00
3. Jacob Grob, MCCC, 22:42:00
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