West Aurora drill team wins national championship

  • West Aurora High's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps' drill team poses with trophies after winning the armed division at a Dayton, Ohio, national contest against 25 schools March 19. In solo competition, Blackhawks Mark Hall and Michael Shadron placed first and second, respectively.

    West Aurora High's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps' drill team poses with trophies after winning the armed division at a Dayton, Ohio, national contest against 25 schools March 19. In solo competition, Blackhawks Mark Hall and Michael Shadron placed first and second, respectively. Courtesy of West Aurora High School

 
Submitted by Al Benson
 
 
Updated 4/9/2022 12:22 AM

West Aurora High School's Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps drill team was named armed division overall champion in a national drill team contest March 19.

The 26-team event was held at the Nutter Center at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio, near Dayton.

 

In solo competition, Blackhawks Mark Hall and Michael Shadron placed first and second, respectively.

Four team events -- inspection, regulation, exhibition and color guard -- were scored in two divisions, armed and unarmed.

Individual competitions included solos, duets and commander categories.

West aerospace science instructor MSgt. Scott Hellinger said, "I am extremely proud of all the cadets who stuck with the drill team through the COVID outbreak. They all went over two years without competing and just practicing.

"It is a testament to all their hard work and dedication to not just Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps but to West and the entire city of Aurora. This accomplishment truly shows that through hard work and dedication to something greater than yourself, anything can be accomplished."

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