Leisure/Sports editor
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The Medical Department Activity had whittled down the Marine Corps Detachment to just two players in the final game of the Commander’s Cup Paintball Tournament on Friday at the Outdoor Adventure Center.

Pinned behind a three-sided barrier, Marines Adam Schugart and James Pulis remained focused on their opponents’ flag, and they discussed their strategy to move forward as paintballs rained down on them. However, they failed to notice MEDDAC player Robert Rieder, who snuck behind them, took careful aim and fired. Schugart quickly returned fire, taking Rieder out, but the damage was already done — both Marines had been hit, and MEDDAC still had three players on the field untouched by purple paint splotches. The move resulted in MEDDAC taking home the tournament trophy for the second consecutive year.

“When I saw the second Marine come over behind the same obstacle, I knew there was no one behind them, so I just circled in behind,” Rieder said.

Rieder and his teammates, Horace Villas, Brian Saurbry, Ryan Borden, Ryan Mahoney, Thomas Salazar III and Ilker Irmak proudly claimed the tournament trophy, while giving some of the credit to last year’s MEDDAC coach, Thomas McManus, who came out to cheer on this year’s team.

When asked the secret to MEDDAC’s success on the paintball field, Rieder said he believed it came down to good communication skills.

“We don’t practice at all,” Rieder said, laughing. “In fact, this (tournament) is the only time we get together and play. But I think we communicate pretty good on the field; we generally have a smart bunch of guys on our team, and we work well together.”

The second-place Marine Det. team, which in addition to Schugart and Pulis included Nicholas Sherman, Roy Baldwin, John Hayden, Brandon Saez, Henry Hernandez and Robert Perdue, advanced to the championship game after defeating the 92nd Military Police Battalion in the opening round, then beating the 169th Engineer Battalion in the semi-final.

The 169th Engineers finished third, winning the third-place contest against the 1st Battalion, 48th Infantry Regiment, which finished fourth despite only having three players in the seven-on-seven contest.

“I got hit in the wrist, which hurt, and I got hit in the back, which hurt — but other than that, it’s been a lot of fun,” said Adam Finley, 1-48th Inf. Bn.

Irmak said the MEDDAC players also had fun, adding that he believed the competition was good for all the units involved.

“You have a chance to come together and compete, regardless of rank — you have master sergeants out here, you have sergeants first class, you have junior enlisted Soldiers out here. It fosters esprit de corps, unit cohesion — and for us it’s a chance to have fun outside the hospital,” Irmak said.

The tournament was the latest in the 19-event Commander’s Cup series, which is scheduled to continue June 8 with trap shooting, followed by soccer on June 11, golf on July 9-10, tennis on July 23, softball on Aug. 27, a 10k road race Sept. 7 and sand volleyball on Sept. 17.