EASTOVER, S.C. – Twenty competitors from every corner of the Palmetto State, Colombia and Germany are participating in South Carolina’s Best Warrior Competition Feb. 24-28 to determine the next Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
Hosted by the South Carolina Army National Guard at the McCrady Training Center, the 2025 Best Warrior Competition challenges competitors on tactical and technical skills, including weapons proficiency, land navigation and combat casualty care. There is also an Army Combat Fitness Test, a timed 12-mile ruck march, an obstacle course and a swim test.
“The Best Warrior Competition reinforces Soldier-level mastery of fundamentals.” said Lt. Col. Javier Yudice, state training officer, South Carolina National Guard. “It’s an opportunity for units to showcase their best and brightest, earn bragging rights, build camaraderie, and for the competitors to test their mettle and grow in resiliency.”
The competition winners — one Soldier and one NCO —are named the South Carolina Army National Guard’s Soldier and NCO of the Year and advance to the regional competition.
South Carolina will host the 2025 regional competition, where NCO and Soldier winners will represent their respective states. The states competing include South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Winners go on to the national competition.
Here are the participants in this year’s South Carolina Army Guard Best Warrior Competition:
Soldier Category
Spc. Austin M. Goodman
Pvt. 1st Class Ricky J. Tyler II
Spc. Micah A. Grover
Spc. Caleb T. Schellenberger
Spc. Jackson E. Kretzing
NCO Category
Sgt. Evans A. Brown
Sgt. Jose M. Lopez-Solera
Sgt. Jordan T. Kirk
Sgt. Nelson C. Rovira
Sgt. Noah M. Boggs
Sgt. Cortland I. Shell
Staff Sgt. Joel K. Hunter Jr.
Sgt. Kyle P. Everett
Colombia
Luis D. Cano-Lopez
Oscar A. Ochoa-Surrez
Jerison J. Camacho-Leal
Rafael Torres-Yepel
Dayana A. Rodriguez-Castillo
Ricoberto Romo-Erazo
Germany
Dean Wessel