Bulldog Raider teams test strength, leadership and endurance

Published 5:30 pm Friday, October 2, 2015

Dedication, leadership skills, teamwork and physical strength are all factors that go into being on a Raider team.

Georgia Military College Prep School is home to three Raider teams: a male team, a female team and a mixed team. These teams put blood, sweat, tears and hours upon hours of training into being able to compete.

“What I like most about competing in these events is just the team dedication that it takes. It takes the whole team,” Caitlin Settle, female team co-captain said. “You are only as fast as your slowest person, so when your slowest person isn’t as fast, it takes the whole team to motivate that one person and it just becomes such a team effort.”

A Raider team isn’t quite like a typical sports team. Team members are put to the test not only physically, but mentally as well. Each competition consists of several different events to showcase skills. The four events are: cross country rescue, rope bridge, team run and the obstacle course. In addition to the four events, each hosting school chooses another event such as the gauntlet, tire flip or the physical training test. Every event requires agility, strength and discipline to complete. These teams train all year to be able to hold their own during the competition.

“We have watched our students push themselves further than they thought possible to get themselves in peak physical and mental condition to do their best at their meets,” GMC Prep Interim Principal Pam Grant said.

Not only do the teams hold their own, but they do it with great success.

“In the short tenure of our program our students have experienced tremendous success; last year the mixed team won state and came in second at nationals,” Grant said. “All three teams have gotten off to a great start and have set their ultimate goal to bring home state and national titles in all three divisions.

After winning multiple competitions at multiple schools, the GMC Prep Raider teams have decided to take the next step and host their own competition on their home turf. After four years of having a Raider program at the school, this will prove to be a big deal for the school and teams.

“We are very excited about it,” Grant said. “We have gotten 17 teams committed, and one team that’s a maybe. The public is invited, we would love for people to come out and watch.”

According to the team captains, being on their home turf is very important. After years of only competing away from home the Raider teams are finally getting to show others their course and hopefully win at home. The captains said that this is important since they win away from home; they want to show other teams what they can accomplish and win all the while being in a comfortable setting.

The Bulldog Invitational Raider Meet will be held at the Oconee River Greenway this weekend (Saturday). The events will be from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend and cheer on the Raider teams.

“I’m really proud of our Raiders and how hard they work together as a team,” Senior Army Instructor David Lewis said.