After months of drilling for hours before school three times a week, the Flathead JROTC color guard team number two placed third in national rankings at the Northwest Regional Drill and Rifle competition in Bend, Ore. Contending with other schools who have been competing for years, Flathead’s future for the JROTC competitions looked bright. “I expected to at least place from either first to fifth,” said JROTC First Sergeant Mike Jurzack. The FHS division of JROTC is hopeful for future competitions following their success. Seniors Ryan Lavoie and Mark Campbell, junior Nick Moody, and sophomores Cody Braaten, Amber Pierce and Dusty Bowen all took part in the regional competition, which is only one link in a chain of competitions that occur from December to March. “We had a lot of good competition,” said Lavoie. “But I think that our hard work and determination is what really helped us so much.” At the competitions JROTC can compete in a marksmanship, color guard or drill team competitions as well as “Exhibition,” where the cadets march and are graded on different types of formations. “We don’t really get to do anything fancy like you see on TV,” said Lavoie. “Everything has to be pretty uniform. The fanciest that we could get by with would be using different styles of marching.” “So far the FHS JROTC division hasn’t been able to go to many competitions in the past due to lack of funding and lack of support from fellow cadets,” said Lavoie. Now, the JROTC finally is able to compete more frequently due to the heightened support of cadets and greater funding that are rolling into the organizaion from fundraisers the cadets take part in. JROTC has planned a trip to compete in Walla Walla, Wash. The outcomes look pretty good for the color guard team, according to Jurzack. “ I think we will definitely place highly,” said Jurzack. “Maybe even first place.” |
