By NewsLine Staff
mail@floridanewsline.com
On April 16, the Nease NJROTC competed against the top 25 NJROTC drill teams across the country at the Navy National Academic, Athletic and Drill Championships — and earned third place. The Navy Nationals comprise a series of nine events — five drill, three athletic and one academic — where the cumulative scores are added to determine the overall national champion. Nease, which won the Area-12 Drill Championship in March in Lee County, Ga., represented NJROTC Area-12, which covers the 60 NJROTC programs across Northern Florida and the state of Georgia.
Nease earned first place in two events — the 16 x100 Relay and Unarmed Basic Drill. The team garnered six additional trophies, including third place in Overall Athletics, Armed Basic Drill, Armed Exhibition Drill and Push Ups. Two cadets earned individual medals for athletics: Emmelie Neff finished fourth in sit ups with 320 and Amber Vidler finished sixth in push ups with 86.
“These young men and women have persevered since August, practicing at 7:30 a.m.,” said senior naval science instructor Captain Scott LaRochelle. “Finishing third in the nation validated their commitment to excellence.”
Nease has qualified and competed at the Navy Nationals every year since 2015 (last year’s championships were canceled, but the team qualified), and never finished higher than sixth place. The top five schools are recognized with individual trophies.
“I believed we nailed our performance perfectly,” said Cadet Brodie Mongon, commander of the winning Unarmed Basic Drill team. “Knowing how incredible some of the other programs from places like California, Virginia and Florida are makes this trophy even more special.”
Photo courtesy Scott LaRochelle
Nease NJROTC’s Armed Basic Team performs its third place finish during the Navy National Academic, Athletic and Drill Championships.
