North Springs High School sent both its male and female JROTC Raider teams to the National Raider Challenge at Fort Knox, Kentucky, held Oct. 22-25.
The school said in a post on X that its programs "once again demonstrated their commitment to excellence" at the competition.
U.S. Army Cadet Command hosted the event, which drew approximately 4,000 cadets from across the country, according to an Army article published Oct. 25. The competition was created in 2023 as a centrally located premier event for Junior ROTC programs.
Cadets negotiated obstacle courses, ran more than 3 miles, tested knowledge gained through Junior ROTC and built a rope bridge in a timed event, the Army reported.
The competition split into three divisions. The challenge division, comparable to a junior-varsity level, competed Oct. 23. The masters division competed Oct. 24 and featured teams with strong track records at challenge events. Junior ROTC programs from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard competed in the all-service division alongside the masters teams.
Teams finishing in the top five of the masters division and top three in all-service, in each subcategory (male, female and mixed), advanced to the Ultimate Raider event. Those 24 teams navigated a 4.2-mile cross-country course carrying 102 pounds of equipment through four obstacles, according to the Army.
North Springs did not appear in the published top-three results for any masters division category. The school's specific division and final placement were not listed in the available results.
Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, commanding general of U.S. Army Cadet Command, addressed cadets and families at the closing. "You didn't cross the finish line as individual competitors; you crossed as an unbreakable, singular unit," Crockett said.
