LAHS NJROTC Topper Company Finishes Third at Area 20 Regionals in Sahuarita

Los Alamos High School’s NJROTC Topper Company, a 32-cadet delegation, placed third overall at the Area 20 Quest For Gold regional competition held at Sahuarita High School in Sahuarita, Arizona earlier in February. The Topper Company earned its spot at Regionals by placing first at the Area 20 regional qualifiers meet in November and competed against six other schools at the meet.

The Los Alamos Daily Post outlined the events that composed the regional contest, writing, “The competition included an academic test, which was completed before the meet, a personal inspection of the entire company, an unarmed regulation drill, an armed regulation drill, a mixed colorguard, an armed exhibition drill, an unarmed exhibition drill, and a physical fitness test.” The fitness portion, as reported, involved pushups, curlups, a 16×100 yard sprint, and an 8×200 yard sprint.

Both local accounts agree on the overall third-place finish, but they diverge on many event-level placements. The Los Alamos Daily Post reported that Los Alamos “earned 1st place in personal inspection, 3rd place in unarmed regulation drill, 1st place in mixed colorguard, 3rd place in academics, 1st place in pushups, 3rd place in curlups, 3rd place in the 8×200 sprint, and 3rd place in physical training.” By contrast, the Los Alamos Reporter listed a different set of results in its copy: “Topper Company took is coming 2nd place in armed basic drill, 3rd in color guard, 2nd in physical fitness, 2nd in personnel inspection, 2nd in male push-ups and 3rd in 16×100 relay.” The reports show consistency on the team’s podium finish while leaving event-by-event rankings in need of reconciliation.

Individual placings noted by the Los Alamos Daily Post highlighted cadet performances in fitness events: “Individually, Michelle Lo placed 2nd in female pushups, Thomas West placed 2nd in male curlups, and Bryan Lee placed 3rd in male pushups.” Those placements underscore the program’s focus on measurable physical tests that feed into team scoring at regional meets.

The full roster of cadets who traveled to Sahuarita was published and included the following names in the order listed: Jonathan Adams, Noah Banks, Sarah Birocco, Kaycee Chapman, Ashton Cody, Kaylee Colson, Evelyn Drake, Gideon Duplechain, Evelyn Ferguson, Matthew Haight, Jordan Humphrey, Lilia Keller-Moore, Samuel Keys, Jaden Kim, Jinwoo Kim, Bryan Lee, Benjamin Lenhart, Michelle Lo, River Muzzie, Grace Norman, Marcus Oviedo, Darius Patton, Desean Patton, Isabella Pearson, Lacey Portillos, Lilli Robinson, Maya Snowden, Isabel Stoica, Madalyn Sutton, Alena Trujillo, Thomas West, and Emma Wolf.

Travel logistics and community support accompanied the trip. Photo captions preserved in the local account show the Topper Company departing under local escort: “LAHS NJROTC Topper Company’s bus gets ready to leave the school parking lot escorted by LAPD and LAFD vehicles. Courtesy photo” and “NJROTC cadets cheer as they prepare to board their bus headed to Sahuarita High School in Arizona Friday morning. Courtesy photo.”

Los Alamos will host the NJROTC annual Area Manager’s Inspection on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and the Topper Company’s next competition is the Capital City Drill Meet on March 14 at Santa Fe High School. With a 32-cadet contingent returning from a regional podium finish and upcoming local inspections and meets scheduled, the program’s momentum and visible community support point to continuing investment in cadet fitness, discipline, and leadership development.