November 13, 2023
Rutherford County Schools
JROTC programs recently completed Raider season, which runs from August to late October.
Teams compete in five events at four county-wide competitions. The team events are the One Rope Bridge, Physical Challenge, Obstacle Course, Map Test and a Secret Event testing the teams’ mental and physical flexibility.
Each school may enter two teams (female, male or coed with coed teams in the same category as male teams).
The All-County Raider team and the recipients were:
- Blackman: Jackson Sohar, Kyndal Hostettler
- LaVergne: Humberto Sanchez, Acelyn Fisher
- Oakland: Dilan Nava, Chloe Lehas
- Rockvale: Yug Patel, Maylin Lake and Abbie Willis
- Siegel: Michael Kiar, Lily Arkenberg
- Smyrna: William Gunn, Lixy Perez
- Stewarts Creek: Jimmy Prater, Karin Kallimy
Riverdale did not compete in the last competition.
At the end of the season, scores used from each competition are combined to determine top teams. This year’s winners are:
Male:
- Champion – Blackman
- Runner up – Siegel
- Third place – Rockvale
Female:
- Champion – Rockvale
- Runner up – Blackman
- Third place – Oakland
Blackman, Rockvale earn Top-10 finishes at Raider National Challenge
The 2023 U.S. Army Cadet Command Junior ROTC Raider Challenge National Competition was held Nov. 2-5 at Fort Knox, Ky.
Blackman’s Male team finished ranked ninth in the Nation for the Masters division.
Blackman’s Female Raider team placed fourth in the Nation for Masters. They placed fifth in One-Rope Bridge building, third in the Physical Training Test and Cross-Country Rescue, and second in the Gauntlet (Obstacle Course). Because the females ranked in the top seven they selected c/CAPT Kyndal Hostettler and c/PFC Payton Holzhei to compete in the Ultimate Raider competition and finished fourth in the Master’s division, the highest of any Rutherford County team to ever compete.
Rockvale Females finished sixth overall in the nation. They finished third in Rope Bridge (just 3 seconds shy of being first), fourth in Cross Country Rescue, fifth on Gauntlet, sixth in the 5K Run, and sixth on the Physical Team Test.
The Rockvale Males finished sixth on the Rope Bridge.
