Wings of Blue defeats Black Knights

Michelle Eberheart/April 27, 2017

The Air Force Academy Wings of Blue defeated the West Point Black Knights during the fourth annual Inter Service Academy Meet April 14-16 at the Military Academy, New York.

Wings of Blue parachutists won two of the three categories, the six-way speed formation and four-way competition, while Black Knights’ Tristan Tarpey came in first for sport accuracy competition.

Academy’s Chandley Beachy came in second for the accuracy competition followed by Black Knight’s Drew Cochran.

“It’s always good to win any competition, especially against the Army,” said Andrew Honigbaum, Wings of Blue coach. “Most important part of this type of competition is the comradery between the two service academies. It’s a great opportunity for cadets from both schools to work together and develop relationships with each other that can help them out later in their careers.”

Cadet Molly Ferguson, Wings of Blue member, echoed the sentiment.

“It’s a really good competition between the service academies,” she said. “Everyone is really welcoming. We all spent time with each other at Collegiate’s this past December, and we just hung out with each other when we weren’t jumping and we have a lot in common. We have the same kind of mentality, so we get along automatically.”

The weekend-long competition was designed to foster a fun rivalry while gaining skydiving experience.

Michael Colell, Black Knights member, said the meet allowed his team to develop strong, competitive relationships with the Air Force Academy while representing West Point in competition.

“Although both teams are naturally competitive in spirit, we understand the strong bond between the sister academies and take any opportunity we can get to form a relationship with their cadets,” he said.

(Article was edited to fit Air Force Academy audience)