The Winona Daily News reports in WSU student wins Army’s top soldier competition:
Army Reserve Spec. David Obray, a Winona State University student, was named the Army’s soldier of the year Monday after a week-long competition at Fort Lee, Va.
Obray was among the top 24 soldiers in the Best Warrior Competition, informally known as the “Super Bowl” of Army contests. He is the first Reservist to win the title.
Soldiers and noncommissioned officers squared off in a test of skill and endurance, which included a grueling 6-mile run carrying 80 pounds of equipment and a grilling by the Army’s top enlisted men. Obray also won a hand-to-hand combat tournament that was much like the popular Ultimate Fighting Championship.
As a high school freshman, Obray, of Granada, Minn., was so overweight he could barely run a mile. Then his older brother, Christopher Obray, joined the Army and David starting getting in shape, losing more than 70 pounds.
Since then, the 22-year-old has devoted himself to fitness, running around Lake Winona and pumping out 500 to 1,000 pushups a day. That’s in addition to carrying a full course load and serving as WSU Student Senate president.. . .
Read the rest at the WDN. This is truly great news: Obray is a leader as a student and a soldier. Our readers first encountered the Martin County native when we liveblogged a Walz press conference in which Obray spoke as a student leader in support of the 21st Century G.I. Bill.
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