Wildcat Battalion rises to the top / JROTC

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The Oak Harbor High School Junior Navy Reserve Officer Corps returned to a familiar spot over the weekend — first place in the 32-team Northwest Drill and Rifle Conference.

Wildcat Battalion has finished among the top three over the past 10 years, including winning the championship in 2013, 2014 and 2016 as well as this year. Oak Harbor finished second in 2017.

The Wildcats earned the title after competing in the regional finals at Marysville-Pilchuck High School Saturday, March 17.

The region’s 32 teams (and 900 cadets) range from Oak Harbor in the north to Oregon City in the south.

The Wildcats were followed in the standings by Everett and Port Angeles, last year’s champion.

The top six in each team category received points to determine the overall champion.

Oak Harbor’s results in the team competition: unarmed drill team, first; armed drill team, first; sporter air rifle, first; precision air rifle, second; academic team, second; dual unarmed exhibition drill (Kanoa King/Manik Bains), second; dual armed exhibition drill (Ethan Macaluso/Cameron Cecka), second; color guard No. 2, third; physical fitness team, fourth.

Individual results for Oak Harbor: Triston Macaluso, armed drill team commander, first; Ivan Snyder, sporter rifle, first; Bains, unarmed drill team commander, second; Rylan Quiros, sporter rifle, second; Lauren Crossley, precision rifle, fourth; Cierra LeGendre, precision rifle, seventh; Dylan Sanchez, sporter rifle, seventh.

The Wildcats are coached by Chief William Thiel and Cmdr. Mike Black. Dave Goodman leads the rifle teams.

“Competing against the best of the best…is a huge honor for all of our cadets,” Thiel said. “Not only are they great competitors, their sportsmanship during the awards ceremony was very supportive.”

Wildcat Battalion will participate in the Northwest Region (Area 13) championships for Navy units of JROTC Saturday, April 21, at Curtis High School.