MOLENA, Ga. -- More than 1,400 Junior ROTC cadets from high schools across the U.S. from Boston to Tucson competed at the 2023 JROTC Raider National Championships in Molena, Ga. from Nov. 17-19, 2023.
Raider Competitions are athletic competitions hosted by JROTC programs around the world. Events take place outdoors and typically consist of individual strength tests across multiple obstacles, distance team running events, simulated rescue events, and a rope bridge construction and water crossing.
The National Championships were held at the Gerald I. Lawhorn Scouting Base in Molena and featured the “best-of-the-best” teams and cadets from the top Junior ROTC Raider teams in the country. Junior ROTC teams from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard all competed throughout the weekend events.
The championships were split into two divisions. The “Challenge Division” included 34 teams, including 15 Air Force teams, that were relatively new to Raider events. The “Masters Division” featured 45 teams, including 18 Air Force teams, of the most experienced, high performing units from across the country. Raider Teams are comprised of ten members each for male and mixed team categories and eight members for female teams.
Both divisions featured five events. The Challenge Division on Nov. 17 included a Physical Team Test, 4K Mountain Run, Tire Flip, Gauntlet (Obstacle Course), and a Rope Bridge event. The Masters Division the following day was similar but replaced the Tire Flip with a Cross Country Rescue event.
The championship weekend concluded with an “Ultimate Raider” solo event on Nov. 19 that included the top male and female cadets in the country competing for the title of “Ultimate Raider” over a 1.5-mile obstacle course while carrying a 35-pound rucksack.
Every Raider event “is a mental and physical test of strength and endurance that takes a committed group of cadets willing to train hard in order to be safe and successful,” according to the Sports Network International website.
The Physical Team Test was held on an approximately 800-meter course around Fincher Pond. It started with teams diving through a corrugated drainage pipe, then carrying multiple water and ammo canisters, clearing a 42-inch barrier, navigating through serpentine and tire obstacles, pushing a 250-pound canoe, and flipping a tractor tire. The teams then completed the same obstacles in reverse.
The 4K Mountain Run comprised a challenging test of each team’s speed, agility, and endurance, beginning with a quarter mile ascent up a 20-degree steep slope on root- and rock-laden trails.
The Tire Flip featured a team sprint to move a large tractor tire around a short course by repeatedly flipping it. Strategies for sequencing team members varied widely with the most creative solutions triumphing.
The Gauntlet required teams to navigate multiple obstacles over a one-mile course, including an elevated tire, 11-foot-high wall, culverts, and drainage pipes while toting four, 35-pound rucksacks and two, 60-pound crates.
The Cross-Country Rescue was designed to simulate transporting a casualty across rugged terrain through several obstacles, including a 30-foot mud pit, to an extraction point. Each team carried six, 35-pound rucksacks, along with a litter containing a 95-pound dummy throughout the one-mile course.
Finally, the Rope Bridge involved the team constructing a 95-foot rope bridge across the Flint River and then pulling themselves across the rope on carabineers. A thorough knowledge of knots and ballet-like choreography saw the winning, 10-member team complete the event in well under two minutes.
Team placements in each event were aggregated to determine the awards, and Air Force Junior ROTC teams fared extremely well across the awards categories.
Congratulations to all JROTC cadets that competed so well in Molena. Here are the awards won by Air Force Junior ROTC units at the National Championships:
Challenge Division: Male Teams
River Ridge High School: 1st place (National Champion) Air Force team, 3rd place overall, 1st place in Physical Team Test and Gauntlet, 3rd place in 4K Mountain Run and Rope Bridge
D.W. Daniel High School: 5th place in 4K Mountain Run and Gauntlet
Cherokee High School: 5th place in Tire Flip
West Nassau High School: 5th place in Rope Bridge
Challenge Division: Mixed Teams
Clover High School: 1st place (National Champion) Air Force team, 2nd place in Gauntlet, 3rd place in 4K Mountain Run
Veterans High School: 3rd place in Gauntlet, 5th place in Physical Team Test
North Gwinnett High School: 3rd place in Tire Flip
Masters Division: Male Teams
Perry High School: 1st place (National Co-Champion) Air Force team, 1st place in Rope Bridge, 3rd place in Physical Team Test, 5th place in 4K Mountain Run
Blue Springs High School: 1st place (National Co-Champion) Air Force team, 1st place in 4K Mountain Run, 4th place in Physical Team Test
Masters Division: Female Teams
Peabody Veterans Memorial High School: 1st place (National Champion) Air Force team, 5th place overall, 4th Place in Cross Country Rescue, 5th place in Gauntlet
Perry High School: 5th place in Rope Bridge
Masters Division: Mixed Teams
Etowah High School: 1st place (National Champion) Air Force team, 2nd place overall, 1st place in Physical Team Test and Rope Bridge, 3rd place in 4K Mountain Run and Cross-Country Rescue, 4th place in Gauntlet
Ultimate Raider: Male Division
Cadet Austin Brice, Etowah High School: 1st place (National Champion) overall out of 25 entrants
Ultimate Raider: Female Division
Cadet Zoie Klugo, D.W. Daniel High School: 2nd place (National Runner-Up) overall out of 23 entrants