White ’21 Makes History as First Woman to Compete in Annual Competition
West Point Classmates 1LT Griffin Hokanson ’21 and 1LT Kevin Moore ’21 from the 75th Ranger Regiment won the U.S. Army’s 2025 Best Ranger Competition. Their classmate 1LT Gabrielle White ’21 and her teammate, CPT Seth Deltenre, finished in 14th out of the 52 competing teams, making her the first female Ranger to complete the three-day challenge.
Held annually at Fort Benning, the LTG David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition is a grueling trial to determine the best Ranger-qualified members of the United States Armed Forces. The competition features two-man teams applying their technical knowledge and testing their physical and cognitive limits in a series of tactical tasks.
Starting Friday, April 11 and wrapping up Sunday morning, the teams of two faced more than 30 different challenges ranging from physical fitness to tests of mental fortitude. Other trials included an obstacle course, an “urban assault course” that had them maneuver through a simulated environment and several other physical challenges, including a “run-swim-run” challenge testing their endurance.
Weapons handling and marksmanship with a variety of weapons, including muskets, also determined the standings. After a late night land navigation course, only 16 teams made the cut to compete in the final day. In the concluding event, a buddy run, Hokanson and Moore crossed the finish line first, arm in arm and raising their firearms in celebration.
