A Cherokee County School District team has been named the national champions in a Junior ROTC competition!
A team of Etowah High School JROTC students this month won first place in the Raider National Championships, a multi-event military style athletic competition.
The 12-member team is made up of Austin Brice, Kendrick Brice, Preston Brundage, Davis Clanton, Trynt Dean, Thomas Driskell, Luke Foresman, Caleb Frankovich, Jeffery Meadows, Trey Petrey, Wes Rountree and Maison Ward.
They competed together in a 4K run, half-mile physical fitness test, rope bridge test and the gauntlet, a half-mile obstacle course. The team earned the top score of more than 50 teams from across the country at the national event held in Pike County.
Lt. Col. (Retired) Stephen Bergey, who is the 2022 Overall AFJROTC Instructor of the Year, leads the Etowah HS JROTC, with fellow instructor Technical Sgt. (Retired) Ciarra Malto.
The team and its leaders will be recognized by the Cherokee County School Board and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian V. Hightower at the School Board’s next meeting.
“Congratulations to our Etowah Eagles on earning a national championship – another feather for the school’s outstanding JROTC program,” Dr. Hightower said. “We’re so proud of your accomplishments and how well you represented your school and our school district.”
A second team from Etowah High School also competed and placed fourth overall. Its members are: Cheyenne Bradley, Robert Browning, Peyton Hill, Connor Lawlor, Dominic Lyu, Paula Maldonado, Emily Pacheco, Walter Portillo, TJ Riddle, Katelyn Swift, Aleksandria Troy and Brett Westphal.
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