Team Navy/Coast Guard Nets 27 Medals at 2011 Warrior Games

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (NNS) -- Team Navy/Coast Guard celebrated the end of the 2011 Warrior Games May 21, after winning a total of 27 medals during the games.

The medals were won in a variety of events such as archery, cycling, swimming, track and field, and wheelchair basketball.

Held annually, Warrior Games is a paralympic-style competition among wounded, ill, and injured service members.

"When a team manages to double its medal count in one year's time, it's evidence of two things: training and dedication," said retired Navy Master Chief Aviation Ordnanceman James "Will" Wilson, Team Navy/Coast Guard co-captain and manager of Navy Safe Harbor's adaptive athletics program. "Our team had the biggest heart, and that carried us through the competition. We are one big extended family, and I couldn't be more proud of what we have accomplished."

After finishing last during the 2010 Warrior Games, Team Navy/Coast Guard moved up the ranks this year, seizing second place with 59.8 points. Though the Marine Corps team took home the Chairman's Cup trophy, Team Navy/Coast Guard bested the Army, Air Force, and Special Operations teams. Using a weighted formula to compensate for team sizes, the Chairman's Cup is awarded to the top-performing service branch.

The final competitions of the Warrior Games were wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball. Team Navy/Coast Guard defeated Air Force, 13-12 in wheelchair basketball, earning a bronze medal Friday evening. On Saturday, the Navy/Coast Guard's sitting volleyball team lost to the Special Operations team after three tight sets.

"The Warrior Games are about Navy and Coast Guard versus the Marines; they're about Army versus the Air Force; they're about Special Operations versus the Marines," said Charlie Huebner, chief of U.S. Paralympics, during the closing ceremonies. "But most importantly, the Warrior Games and the Olympic and Paralympic movement is about one thing: Team USA."

TEAM Navy/Coast Guard Final Medal Count:

Gold Medals

Archery:
Compound - Retired Navy Boatswain Mate 1st Class Andre Shelby

Cycling:
Men's Visually Impaired: Retired Navy Builder Constructionman Daniel Peters

Swimming:
Men's 50-meter Backstroke (Double Lower-body Amputee): Navy Lt. Dan Cnossen
Men's 50-meter Freestyle (Double Lower-body Amputee): Navy Lt. Dan Cnossen
Men's 100-meter Freestyle (Double Lower-body Amputee): Navy Lt. Dan Cnossen
Men's 50-meter Backstroke (Upper-body Impairment): Navy Special Warfare Boat Operator Chief Daniel Hathorn
Men's 50-meter Freestyle (Upper-body Impairment): Navy Special Warfare Boat Operator Chief Daniel Hathorn
Men's 100-meter Freestyle (Upper-body Impairment): Navy Special Warfare Boat Operator Chief Daniel Hathorn
Men's 50-meter Backstroke (Single Lower-body Amputee): Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Patrick Woodruff
Men's 50-meter Freestyle (Single Lower-body Amputee): Navy Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Aaron Heldreth
Mixed 200-meter Freestyle Relay:
Retired Navy Lieutenant John Edmonston
Retired Navy Operations Specialist 2nd Class Joseph Frank
Navy Special Warfare Boat Operator Chief Daniel Hathorn
Navy Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Aaron Heldreth

Silver Medals

Cycling:
Men's Recumbent: Coast Guard Chief Operations Specialist Christopher John "CJ" Shunk

Swimming:
Men's 50-meter Freestyle (Spinal Cord Injury): Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Selemani Johnson
Men's 100-meter Freestyle (Spinal Cord Injury): Navy Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Selemani Johnson
Women's 50-meter Backstroke: Navy Lieutenant Melanie Monts de Oca

Track & Field:
Men's 100-meter Dash (Lower-body Amputee): Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Patrick Woodruff
Men's 200-meter Dash (Lower-body Amputee): Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Patrick Woodruff
Men's 800-meter Dash (Lower-body Amputee): Navy Lt. Dan Cnossen
Men's 100-meter Dash (Wheelchair): Retired Navy Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Nathan DeWalt
Men's 200-meter Dash (Wheelchair): Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Angelo Anderson
Men's 800-meter Dash (Wheelchair): Retired Navy Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Nathan DeWalt

Bronze Medals

Cycling:
Men's Handcycle: Retired Navy Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Nathan DeWalt
Men's Recumbent: Retired Coast Guard Electrician's Mate 3rd Class Michael Bell

Swimming:
Women's 50-meter Freestyle: Navy Lieutenant Melanie Monts de Oca

Track & Field:
Men's 100-meter Dash (Wheelchair): Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Angelo Anderson
Mixed 4x100 Relay:
Retired Navy Lieutenant John Edmonston
Aviation Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Oswald Gould
Navy Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Aaron Heldreth
Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal 1st Class Patrick Woodruff

Wheelchair Basketball: Team award

Team Navy/Coast Guard is sponsored by Navy Safe Harbor, the lead organization for coordinating the non-medical care of wounded, ill and injured Sailors, Coast guardsmen and their families. Through proactive leadership, Safe Harbor provides a lifetime of individually tailored assistance designed to optimize the success of enrollees' recovery, rehabilitation, and reintegration activities.

For more news from Chief of Naval Personnel, visit www.navy.mil/local/cnp/.