EDITOR’S NOTE: Electronic photos are available from UA Army ROTC. Contact Maj. Gerald Posey, UA assistant professor of military science, 205/348-1060.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - University of Alabama Army ROTC Cadets won the prestigious Nelson Cup for Orienteering for the second year in a row at the Annual 5th Brigade Viking Pursuits Competition held Feb. 2 at Oak Mountain State Park.

The Crimson Tide Cadets, led by seniors Alan Stephens of Roanoke and Michael Ballard of Tuscaloosa, finished with the top team score of 975 points edging out the second place Mississippi State team by a 25-point margin. The other members of the winning UA team were juniors Max Self of Birmingham, Todd Floyd of West Point and Kedric Clark of Huntsville.

The Army ROTC’s 5th Brigade consists of senior ROTC battalions representing 23 colleges and universities from all across the Southeastern United States. Some 400 cadets competed in the Nelson Cup event.

“The event is conducted to help prepare cadets for their National Leadership Advance Camp conducted each summer at Ft. Lewis, Washington,” said Lt. Col. Neil C. Reinwald, UA professor of military science.

Orienteering is a critical skill that involves a soldier finding points in a designated area using map reading, compass and terrain association techniques. The Viking Pursuit Meeting calls for cadets to find up to 30 flagged markers in a very hilly, thickly forested area 3.2 miles long and 1.6 miles wide. They only have three hours to find their points and return to the start point. The cadets are scored individually and as part of a five-person team. Trophies are awarded for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd highest individual scores, but the overall championship represented by the Nelson Cup goes to the highest average team score.

“This event not only tests the cadet’s map reading and navigation skills, but because of the rugged terrain and the time limit, it also becomes a very significant physical endurance test,” stated Lt. Col. Jeff Reilly, executive officer for UA. “This is a great event, not only do cadets get to interact with other cadets from all across the Southeast, they also get to participate in some classic rivalries. Although our biggest rival is usually that school from down on the plains (Auburn University), our biggest rival in this competition every year has been Mississippi State University (MSU),” he said.

MSU Cadet Matthew Beall finished with the top individual score, and two other MSU Cadets, James Welch and David Cox, rounded out the top three in the individual competition.

“Our cadets felt a lot of pressure at that point,” said Stephens, cadet battalion commander, adding, “We came into this year’s meet trailing MSU two-to-one for number of times taking the cup. They (the UA Cadets) really wanted to tie it up by winning this year and also this win would make it two in a row.”

Sgt. 1st Class John Stowe, UA military science instructor, commented that “Mississippi State was feeling pretty confident that they were going to sweep the competition after the announcement of the top three individual scores. But our guys know this is a team event and that’s where the scores really count! Actually, I had been doing some bragging beforehand because I knew our cadets could take that cup home for the second year in a row!”