Texas has its newest top troopers — and this year’s competition didn’t just crown winners, it broke records.
The 14th annual Javier Arana Jr. Top Trooper Competition wrapped up with Brody Telfer of Belton taking the top male honors and Melanie Moreno of Seguin claiming top female — her second time earning that distinction. A field of 140 Texas Department of Public Safety personnel competed, including a record-breaking 28 female troopers, the largest female contingent in the competition’s history. That’s not a footnote. That’s a trend.
A Competition Built on Sacrifice
The event isn’t just a skills showcase. It’s named after Trooper Javier Arana Jr., who gave his life in the line of duty — and that weight is felt every year. As Texas Highway Patrol Chief Bryan Rippee put it, “This competition represents the very best of the Texas Department of Public Safety. These Troopers demonstrate not only elite skill and discipline, but an unwavering commitment to protecting and serving Texans.” That’s not boilerplate. When 140 officers show up to be tested physically and professionally, it means something.
DPS Director Steven McCraw echoed that sentiment after the 12th annual competition — when Trevor Topper of Archer City and Melanie Moreno, then representing Alice, took the top spots among 120 competitors including a then-record 16 females. McCraw said it plainly: “The Texas Department of Public Safety Top Trooper Competition is more than a contest — it’s about honoring the sacrifices many heroes, like Trooper Javier Arana, Jr., have made in the line of duty.”
Year Over Year, the Numbers Keep Growing
What’s striking is the trajectory. From 120 participants in the 12th annual competition, to 138 in the 13th, to 140 in the 14th — the field keeps expanding. More telling is the female participation: 16, then 25, now 28. Each year sets a new record. Each year, that record gets broken again.
The 13th annual competition produced its own headline. Corporal Kip Staton of Tyler won top male, while Trooper Dani Basye of Amarillo claimed top female — for the third time, having also won in 2022 and 2019. The field that year ranged from troopers aged 22 to 55, with 113 males and a record 25 females. DPS Colonel Freeman F. Martin called them “highly skilled, deeply committed and driven by a sense of duty,” adding that Texas would host the national competition and welcome troopers from across the country to compete. High stakes, on home turf.
Basye’s achievement, in particular, deserves its own paragraph. Three-time winner. Different years, different fields, same result. A local outlet in Amarillo highlighted her third win — and it’s the kind of consistency that doesn’t happen by accident.
What It Actually Takes
So what does it take to be a top trooper? The competition tests elite law enforcement skills across multiple disciplines — physical fitness, tactical proficiency, marksmanship, and more. It’s not a formality. Competitors don’t just show up. They train for it. And with the pool of participants growing annually, the margin for error keeps shrinking.
Moreno’s story is its own kind of through-line. She won as a trooper representing Alice in the 12th annual competition. Now she’s back — representing Seguin — taking the top female title again in the 14th. That’s not luck. DPS announced her win alongside Telfer’s, capping a competition that, by any measure, was the most competitive in the event’s history.
Bigger Picture
Still, it’s worth stepping back. Behind every record and every winner’s name is a department actively working to showcase what its troopers can do — and perhaps more importantly, who they are. The growing female participation isn’t incidental. It reflects something shifting inside one of the country’s largest state law enforcement agencies.
That’s a story that doesn’t end with a trophy. It’s just getting started.
