Tarleton ROTC Runs Army Ten-Miler
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 11, 2018
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — A group of nine cadets from Tarleton State University’s Army ROTC Texan Battalion participated in the national Army Ten-Miler race this past weekend in Washington, D.C.
Tarleton ROTC Cadet Nick Bonicoro, 4th Platoon Sergeant, led the Texan Battalion team with the fastest time and completed the 10-mile course in 68 minutes — just 18 minutes behind 2018 male winner Frankline Tonui’s 50:23 mark.
The annual race started in 1985 and is conducted by the U.S. Army Military District of Washington (MDW). This year’s race, held Oct. 7, attracted more than 35,000 runners and 600 teams, and is the Army’s third-largest 10-mile road race in the world. Participants include military personnel, civilians, wheel chair athletes and wounded warrior athletes.
Runners started and finished the course at the Pentagon and raced along several Washington, D.C., streets, crossing the Francis Scott Key Bridge and running along Rock Creek Parkway before passing the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.
All proceeds from this year’s race benefit the U.S. Army’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. Since its founding, more than 420,478 have run in the Army Ten-Miler, and proceeds from the race have generated more than $7.3 million.
Tarleton ROTC Cadets participating in this year’s Army Ten-Miler:
• Adam Arata, S/3 Battalion Operations Officer, senior history major from Manahawkin, N.J.
• Ty Madison, senior finance and accounting major from Weatherford, Texas
• Colton Rowe, senior biomedical sciences major from Sheffield, Iowa
• John Zellner, Tarleton Corps of Cadets Commander, senior criminal justice major from Chicago
• Tristen Garza, sophomore mechanical engineering major from San Antonio
• Will Corrigan, sophomore criminal justice major from West Lafayette, Ind.
• David Peek, freshman computer science major from West Plains, Mo.
• Nick Bonicoro, 4th Platoon Sgt., senior kinesiology major from Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Jacob Garcia, freshman physics major from Frisco, Texas.
Cadets Zellner and Arata participated in the Army Ten-Miler last year as part of the Texan Battalion and attracted additional participants at Tarleton to field a larger race team in 2018. Cadet Madison devised an eight-week training program ahead of the race to help prepare cadets for the grueling 10-mile course. This year also marked Arata’s eighth-straight year to compete in the Army Ten-Miler.
The Tarleton cadets raised funds for the trip to Washington, D.C., and had the opportunity to visit the many monuments and memorials in the nation’s capital, including stops along the National Mall and White House. While there, cadets also attended the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual National Conference earlier in the week.
“It was a great experience to meet with our nation’s most important leaders and discuss the future of the United States Army and its continued cooperation with our allies,” Arata said.
“Our time in Washington, D.C., was a great opportunity to better educate ourselves about our military, interact with prominent members of both our military and our allies, and provided an opportunity to make connections that will benefit us as future Army officers,” Bonicoro said.
To learn more about Tarleton’s Army ROTC Texan Battalion, visit www.tarleton.edu/rotc.
Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.
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Contact: Maj. John Bradley, Professor of Military Science
254-968-9595
[email protected]
