Los Alamos High School NJROTC cadets at recent drill meet in Albuquerque. Courtesy photo
Los Alamos High School NJROTC cadets at recent drill meet in Albuquerque. Courtesy photo
BY C/ENS MELANIE WEEKLY
Public Affairs Officer
Los Alamos NJROTC
Recently Los Alamos NJROTC traveled to Albuquerque to compete in two drill meets. On November 2, Topper Company attended the Duke City Drill Meet at Del Norte High School. Their hard work paid off with outstanding results: 1st place in uniform inspection,1st in Armed Regulation Drill, 1st in Unarmed Regulation Drill, and 1st place for both the Female and Male Color Guards, as well as 2nd place in Armed Exhibition Drill and 1st place overall in the 4A category. This achievement is significant, given the effort the teams have put in. They have been rising early to train hard and support one another, demonstrating commitment to their goals.
“I am so incredibly proud of every single cadet that came out here and showed up,” said C/PO2 Evelyn Drake, female color guard commander. “They are the reason we won.”
The second drill meet Topper Company attended was the Area 20 East Qualifier Drill Meet held at Highland High School. The day was packed with events and the cadets remained busy throughout. They left everything on the deck and took pride in their performances. The meet went exceptionally well, with Topper Company placing 1st in Physical Fitness, 3rd in Academics, 3rd in Armed Regulation Drill, 3rd in Unarmed Regulation Drill, and 3rd in Color Guard, finishing in 3rd place overall.
C/ENS Bella Pearson, marksmanship team commander, says, “I’m very proud of how we performed at these meets. I’m glad we could have so much fun and bring home some gold!”
Topper Company’s early morning practices and hours of dedication paid off as their 3rd place overall finish secured their spot at the regional competition in February. Held at Sahuarita High School in Arizona, they will be competing against eight other schools from throughout New Mexico, Texas, California, and Colorado. The overall winner of this meet qualifies that school for a trip to the Navy Nationals competition held in March at Naval Air Station Pensacola, FL. Bravo Zulu, Topper Company!