by JENNIFER THOMPSON
Special to the Hays Free Press
Earlier this month the Lehman High School Naval JROTC traveled to Smithson Valley High School to compete in their first drill meet of the season. Every team managed to place in the competition.
Leading the pack was the Unarmed Drill Team. Under the command of Cadet Jennifer Thompson, the Unarmed team took first place in Inspection and second place in Regulation Drill. Cadet Elexis Esquivel took over for Exhibition Drill and managed to pull down a third place finish. The Unarmed Drill Team consisted of Cadets Aleya Banbury, Alyssa Soliz, Shelby White, Brittany Jenner, Ana Montoya, Courtney Cygan, Diana Jaco, Sadey Klein, Cassandra Martinez, Nick Vinson and Anissa Palacios.
The Armed Drill Team, led by Cadet Garrett Brundage, managed a third place finish in Inspection. The Armed Drill Team includes cadets Jacob Castro, Payton Garza, Elijah Powers, Drake Rubio, Alfredo Sifuentes, Jason Silbas, Chris Hope, Jonathan Medina, Justin Arrellano, Robert Pierce, Ely Gonzales and Hector Alvarado.
Marksmanship placed second, the team made up of cadets Brundage, Ely Gonzales, Joshua Andrade and Matthew Rodriguez. The female Colorguard, led by Cadet Courtney Cygan, placed second and included Cygan, Diana Jaco, Jennifer Thompson and Ana Montoya. Thompson and Ely Gonzales also placed second in Orienteering, a timed event using a compass to find checkpoints in the outdoors, Lieutenant Commander John Berry said.
Finally – and notably – Cadet Chris Vargas earned an individual first place medal for academics, beating out approximately 150 competitors.
