Competing against the top 25 NJROTC drill teams across the country, Nease placed third at the 2021 Navy National Academic, Athletic and Drill Championships on April 16.
The Navy Nationals comprise a series of nine events — five drill, three athletic and one academic — where the cumulative scores are added to determine the overall national champion. Nease represented NJROTC Area-12, which covers the 60 NJROTC programs across Northern Florida and Georgia, having won the Area-12 Drill Championship last month in Lee County, Georgia.
Nease won first place in two events — the 16-by-100 relay and unarmed basic drill. The team garnered six additional trophies, including third place in overall athletics, armed basic drill, armed exhibition drill and pushups. Two cadets earned individual medals for athletics — Emmelie Neff finished fourth in situps with 320 and Amber Vidler finished sixth in pushups with 86.
“These young men and women persevered since August practicing at 7:30 a.m.,” said senior naval science instructor Cpt. Scott LaRochelle. “Finishing third in the nation validated their commitment to excellence.”
Nease has qualified and competed at the Navy Nationals every year since 2015 (last year’s championships were canceled, but the team qualified), having never finished higher than sixth place. The top five schools are recognized with individual trophies.
“I believed we nailed our performance perfectly,” said Cadet Brodie Mongon, commander of the winning unarmed basic drill team. “Knowing how incredible some of the other programs from places like California, Virginia and Florida are makes this trophy even more special.”
