Nease NJROTC completed its 2015-2016 Academic, Athletic and Drill competition much the same way it began – claiming another 1st place title, this time as Clay High School NS1/NS2 Brain Brawl champions.
Brain Brawls are similar to Jeopardy contests, with teams ringing in the fastest and with the correct answer score points.
Nease’s Brain Brawl team led all 20 competitive teams after the two preliminary rounds, thereby advancing to the four-team finals. After Nease still remained tied with Terry Parker High School and South Effingham High School, a special one-minute lightning round of questions left Nease standing alone at the top.
Nease cadets Brandon Mum, Preston Rose, Scott Cummings, Jesse Gatewood and Troy Barber represented the winning team.
“The finals were intense,” team captain Scott Cummings said. “And then three teams tie and we go into the one-minute lightning round – that was really intense.”
The Brain Brawl win marks the seventh championship won this year by the reigning Most Outstanding Unit in the Nation. Other titles claimed include: Middleburg Brain Brawl, Ed White Drill Meet, Mandarin Drill Meet, Terry Parker Drill Meet, Area-12 Championship Drill Meet and Lee Ultimate Frisbee Challenge.
The program recently received recognition as the 2016 Most Outstanding Unit in NJROTC Area 12 (59 school region that covers northern Florida and the state of Georgia) – for the fifth consecutive year.
Nease is now among the top 12 programs competing for the Most Outstanding Unit in the Nation for 2016. Naval Service Training Command in Pensacola will announce those results in the coming weeks.
Signing Day
In other Nease NJROTC news, the program hosted its National Military Signing Day for graduating seniors receiving appointments to the United States service academies or full ROTC scholarships at public universities on April 26. Six cadets signed letters of intent during a formal ceremony held on campus and attended by family, teachers and classmates.
The appointments include: Nolan Alexander of St. Augustine, a full Navy ROTC scholarship to Embry Riddle University; Michael Begun of Ponte Vedra, a full Army ROTC scholarship to Virginia Tech; Daniel Donovan of St. Augustine, a full Air Force scholarship to the University of Florida; Michaela Heinrich of Ponte Vedra, an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy; Marcus Sanders of St. Augustine, an appointment to the United States Naval Academy Prep School; and Zachary Yearwood of Ponte Vedra, a full Navy ROTC scholarship to the University of South Carolina.
