One of two women slated to be the first ever to graduate from the U.S. Army's Ranger school is Kristen Griest, a 2007 graduate of Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge.
Sean Mahon coached Griest in indoor and outdoor track. He said the young athlete, who was captain of the outdoor track team in 2007, demonstrated a "quiet" and "tenacious" leadership on the field and in the classroom.
"She was so focused and such a student of the events that she did," Mahon said. "Interesting, because she was a distance runner as well as a thrower, which is a very odd combination."
Griest did both the 1,600 meters and the discus throw, where she qualified to compete in the state championships.
Following graduation, Griest attended West Point. To qualify for Ranger training, she had to complete 49 push-ups and 59 sit-ups. She also had to do six chin-ups, and run five miles in under 40 minutes.
"She's just an amazing individual and I think she's a role model for everybody -- men and women, especially younger people," Mahon said. "One of our sayings on our team way back then was it's kind of fun to do the impossible. It's great to see people take that theme and take it outside the school walls of Amity and take it with them in life to do what they want to do."
Griest is scheduled to graduate from Ranger School later this week.
