96 TW groups face off in pushup competition

  • Published
  • By Sara Vidoni
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  It was a fierce and tiresome campaign as the Operations Group battled through sweat and fatigue to claim the victory at the first-ever 96th Test Wing pushup competition held June 21 here.

"Our first pushup competition was a great success," said Chief Master Sgt. Marcus Snoddy, the 96th TW command chief. "We wanted to foster a sense of healthy competition among the groups while raising money for a good cause. The competition was the perfect opportunity to bring together our Airmen while emphasizing the importance of both fitness and goodwill."

Six groups participated in the competition to include civil engineering, maintenance, medical, mission support, operations and wing staff. Each group was asked to recruit a field grade officer, a company grade officer, a chief, a senior non-commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer and an airman.

Enthusiasm and anticipation permeated the air of the Enlisted Heritage Hall as a battle of strength and endurance commenced. The competition kicked off with the six members of each group rotating through to do as many pushups as possible in 10 minutes. When the results were tallied, MDG, MSG and OG progressed to the next round with 894, 879 and 874 pushups respectively.

In a bid to remain in the competition, CEG, MXG and WSA faced off in a one-man pushup showdown. Each group elected a member to complete as many pushups as possible in two minutes. CEG edged into the fourth spot thanks to Tech Sgt. Carlos Sanchez, of the 96th Civil Engineering Squadron, who completed 120 pushups.

In the second round, OG shoved MSG out of the competition by completing 518 pushups to their 465 in five minutes and MDG edged out CEG with 494 to 482 pushups.

Anticipation was high as the OG took on the MDG in the final round. Each group was given two minutes to complete as many pushups as possible with each member only allowed to participate one time in the rotation.

The competition was heated, but when the timer ran out, OG had squeezed out the win with 185 pushups to the MDG's 182.

The six members of the winning OG team included: Maj. Charles McMullen, 2nd Lt. John Vidoni, Chief Master Sgt. Steven Lantz, Master Sgt. Matthew Rumsey, Staff Sgt. Austin Sutton and Senior Airman Shawna Johnson. In commemoration of their win, the group was awarded a streamer to be placed on their guidon.

The purpose of the competition was to support an Air Force Material Command command-wide fundraising event to send Tech Sgt. Scott Borlinghaus, an Airman based out of Kirtland AFB, to participate as the AFMC's Air Force Enlisted Village "Dragonslayer" runner in the Air Force Marathon. The sponsorships and donations he receives will support the Air Force Enlisted Village.

The fundraising goal set for the pushup competition was $500 throughout the wing. However, the combined total raised was more than $1,500, far exceeding expectations. MXG alone raised $500 leading the way for the overall total.

"We couldn't be more pleased with the donations raised for this event," said Snoddy. "All the groups and their representatives worked hard to make sure this competition was a true success on every level. We look forward to the ways we can build this event in the future so we can continue to support the fundraisers that are significant to our Airmen."

Snoddy hopes to make the pushup competition a bi-annual tradition as a way to raise money throughout the year for various causes while creating healthy competition and camaraderie throughout the 96th TW groups.