Cadets at North Side High School’s AFJROTC program have become accustomed to winning drill and sports competitions.
In fact, for the past six months they have been preparing to return to the National Drill Championships in Daytona Beach this May. But on Monday, the JROTC unit received the news they had also earned a place in the Championship Round of the JROTC Academic Bowl competition and will have the rare opportunity to compete for two National Championships. Cadet Elijah Gasmen (Team Captain): “We are very excited to have a chance at winning an Academic Championship for North Side”
In March, cadets competed in the second round of the online competition sponsored by the College Options Foundation and Norwich University. Each level of the competition consists of 5 segments challenging cadets with ACT style questions covering current events, JROTC knowledge, reading, and English, math and science. Colonel Chris Pope (team coach): “ I’m very proud of our cadets and I’m thankful to Mr. Catlett and my fellow teachers at North Side who, through their dedication, ensured our team was competitive.”
Up to this point, the North Side team, has only competed against other Air Force JROTC units. In the Championship Round, they will go up against all services hoping to be crowned the Academic Bowl champions. The cadets are the only Air Force Team from Tennessee to advance far in the competition.
Congratulations to Cadets Shawn Brooks, Alexius Fly, Elijah Gasmen, Adel Hanson, Kayla Weaver, and Contericka White.
