Cimarron Memorial High School, a 20 minute drive from Shadow Ridge, found itself home to hundreds of cadets from CCSD on March 1st. Starting at 8 in the morning, cadets participated in rigorous inspection and meticulous presentations in order to impress a variety of judges. John Navarro, a cadet senior airman, attended the competition.
“During our last week before Cimarron, our drill teams held several later practices, ranging from about 1 to 3-4 pm. Our armed team even held an out of school practice until 5,” Navarro said.
In most color guard teams, there are 3 levels; Alpha, Bravo and Novice. Navarro was the color guard commander for the Cimarron High School competition.
“Leading Novice in the competition made me work harder and faster in the coming weeks, and as for the experience, it was both an amazing and humbling one,” Navarro added. “Leading a team of newer cadets gave me a new view on leadership, while during the actual performance I was shown that my confidence could be a bit too much, but I did manage to perfect my sequence.”
Despite a less than flawless performance, the Novice team kept their heads held high and are ready to hop into the next competition better than ever.
“I think my mistake in the competition gave me a lesson on just how blind I could get with confidence. My notes on the event left me desiring more practices for the 12th and a surprise on my pride for the Color Guard,” Navarro said.
Vanessa Gianini, a sophomore cadet senior airman, participated in the Cimarron competition, and managed to win a first place trophy with her team; Commander Grace Dunn, Rallie Williams, and Slicker Williams.
“Once they called our name for that first place spot I was so excited. It was one of the best feelings and I hope to experience it again soon,” Gianini added. “We achieved it by working hard and putting our all into our practices and our performance.
With only Air Force JROTC programs, the outcome was not a full house like many expected.
“This comp was a lot smaller than our past ones because it was only AF/SFJROTC schools,” Gianini commented.
Despite the challenges, the cadets still managed to enjoy their time at Cimarron, and intend to bring another trophy to the Ridge.
“Although it can be stressful, I always look forward to comps because they are super fun and I get to be with some of my best friends all day,” Gianini said. “This comp in particular was very very fun.”
