April 19, 2009

Yesterday, 47 cadets from Troy NJROTC participated in our third Navy Junior ROTC nationals competition in 3 years.  We did our best ever, finishing 2nd in academics, 3rd in exhibition and 9th overall.  Troy was also honored as the recipient of the Captain Jim Harvey award as the school that exhibited the best sportsmanship and spirit throughout the 2 day event.  25 schools competed from across the nation, and Troy, representing California and Arizona as the 2-time area champions, traveled the farthest to Pensacola, Florida.

Centiennial High School from Las Vegas, NV took top honors and for the first time in over 15 years a school from the west coast has been crowned as the Navy Junior ROTC nationals champion.  Troy has been invited by Centennial to compete in their local competition next year, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to take on the reigning nationals champion!

We were very surprised and honored to receive the Captain Harvey trophy.  Troy's team has always conducted themselves with class and as excellent sports.  It was great to be recongnized for doing what comes very naturally for us.  We had a team dinner on Thursday at a local restaraunt in Pensacola, and 3 other schools were also there.  Our students made the point of greeting all of them and got a chance to meet and know a little about fellow students from different parts of the country.  That is a small part of what we try to do as we work hard but also enjoy each other's company and the experience of representing our program, our school, Fullerton and California.  Many of those we met now can tell you that Troy High School is from Fullerton, California!

This annual event pitted students in 11 different events, including academics, athletics and marching.  Troy finished 16th overall in 2007 and 11th in 2008.  4 seniors led Troy's team: Christian Reyes, Stacy Suh, Howard Packer and Robert Gread.  Individually, Troy had several students who were singled out for their individual performance:  Osborn Chung - 3rd place in armed marching, Michael Gamboa - 4th place in unarmed marching, Nolan Vorck - 4th place in academics, Michael Gamboa - 6th place in academics.

Senior Stacy Suh, headed to Cal Berkley next year, led Troy's academic team, even with our top 2 students home, moved up from last year's 5th place finish.  This year's test was a freshly written 100 question multiple choice test covering naval history, nautical science, navigation, leadership, NJROTC uniforms and marching rules.  Troy, a long time state champion in NJROTC academics, demonstrated their knowledge and knack for learning by besting 23 of the 25 schools at nationals.

We were also very satisfied with our marching performance.  The unarmed exhibition team led by junior Arshya Gurbani took 3rd place honors and proved what a difference that a year could make.  After placing 23rd last year, the team worked hard to update the flavor and flair of their routine to match the high caliber seen at the nationals level.  Troy's team of 13 students, including 6 juniors, 4 sophomores and 3 freshmen, gave a performance that dazzled the crowd and judges.  Showing precision moves to an upbeat tempo, Troy team gave a variety of intricate team moves with precisely choreographed movements.  Adapting to a last minute change in the performance area, Arshya and her team were able to tweak their routine with only 1 hour before their performance time, showing coolness under pressure.

We have learned that in Florida during nationals that the students we compete against are faster, stronger, smarter and better marchers than anyone we face in California.  But we have also shown the rest of the nation that Troy deserves to be there and we are taken very seriously as a school that is there to win.

Photos from the event are on the Troy NJROTC website (www.njrotc.troyhigh.com), and additional information will be posted after the team returns home on Monday evening, April 20.

Go Troy NJROTC!

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Results from Nationals 2008 

Troy qualified and competed at the 2008 NJROTC National Competition, held in Pensacola, Florida on April 4-5.  Troy sent a team of 40 cadets and 24 cadets supporters to assist the team. 

 

Troy finished 11th overall out of 25 schools, a 5 place jump from last year.

 

Academics - 5th place trophy (Jason Tran finished 6th, Aaron Tran finished 10th)

Personnel Inspection - 6th

Color Guard - 10th

Athletics - 12th (Britanny Rossiter finished 9th in female pushups with 71)

Drill - 17th

 

The Troy High School cheer of “T-What? -- T-ROY!” was heard in Pensacola, Florida this past weekend as Troy’s Navy Junior ROTC program competed in their national athletic, academic and drill competition. Returning for the second year in a row, Troy’s 64 student contingent was the largest and loudest of the 25 schools from across the country. Wearing their school’s colors of red and black, the Troy cadets cheered on their teammates for a 5th place trophy in academics, barely missing a 5th place trophy in personnel inspection. Troy’s eleventh overall is a jump of five places from last year, and Troy placed higher than the other three schools competing from California: Serra (San Diego), Lemoore, and Soledad high schools.

Cadet Lieutenant Commander Saumya Gurbani, the Executive Officer of the 200 plus Troy NJROTC cadets commented, “Our hard work and dedication paid off, and we were ecstatic with the results. The other schools were the best of the best.” Flour Bluff of Corpus Christi, Texas won for the 11th time in 12 years. “We can only get better in the future; we learn more every year and the youth of our team will mean even better results in the future.”

 

Cadet Commander Nicole Uchida, Troy’s Commanding Officer added, “Everyone was focused on doing their best and representing Troy High School on the national stage. Our cadets showed true sportsmanship throughout the weekend. We also established a pretty neat bond with Flanagan High School from Miami. We stood and cheered when they won, and they returned the favor.”

Commander Allen Stubblefield, one of three teachers at Troy for NJROTC, ended with, “Our cadets showed tremendous teamwork, the seniors led from the front, in another great Troy performance. We won every competition we entered this year up until nationals, but we knew the schools at nationals would be extremely competitive. After the awards ceremony, it was also great to see our freshmen and sophomores already looking ahead to how to get better for next year.”