East Lyme - Sgt. Jerry Gil of Old Saybrook crosses the finish line of the 10K tactical road march phase of the 2014 Best Warrior Competition at the Stones Ranch Military Reservation in East Lyme Saturday morning, finishing in just over one hour even after twisting his knee during the run.

Competitors all but ran a challenging terrain 10K course carrying a machine gun and a 30-pound rucksack on their backs. Gil is based with the 14th Civilian Support Team in Windsor Locks. The Best Warrior Competition is a multiple-day, rigorous, multiple-phased, voluntary competition created to test and challenge the military skills of the competing soldiers.

The competition takes place in every state, and soldiers who qualify move up through several regional and national levels of the competition. The field of 21 Connecticut soldiers that started the competition had dwindled down to 13 by Saturday morning.