SSHS’ Manta Ray team advances to JLAB championship

Manta Ray Battalion instructor Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Richard S. Basa, leftmost, poses with the JROTC Leadership Academic Bowl Leadership team, starting from second from left, cadet 2LT Mechaella De Ramos, cadet SFC Matz Catindig, cadet 1SG John Lloyd Tuquero, cadet 2LT Danielle Formalejo, and cadet 1LT Dianna Catigan. (Contributed Photo)

The JROTC Leadership Academic Bowl Leadership team of the Manta Ray Battalion of Saipan Southern High School has made it to the JLAB championship round.

The battalion’s JLAB Leadership team has qualified to compete in the 2022 Army JROTC Leadership Bowl Championship in Washington, D.C., which will be held on the campus of The Catholic University of America on June 19-23, 2022.

Saipan Southern High School’s JROTC team earned top scores out of the 1,371 Army JROTC Leadership teams that competed worldwide and they managed to be one of the 40 Army JROTC Leadership teams to advance to the final competition.  The cadets from Saipan Southern High School have proven their ability to overcome and succeed despite the many obstacles they faced throughout their preparation. 

“Our team worked very hard to study as many questions as possible and will review any questions we got wrong on our quizzes,” said cadet 2LT Danielle Formalejo. “We had our doubts as the questions were very randomized and had the idea that the majority of the questions we encountered weren’t the ones we reviewed and studied, which might lessen our chance of winning; however, teamwork makes the dream work.”

According to the battalion’s instructor, Command Sergeant Major (Ret.) Richard S. Basa, this is the second time that the JLAB Leadership team has qualified to compete with other schools in Washington, D.C. The first time they competed, out of 40 different teams worldwide, the Saipan Southern High School Manta Ray Battalion won the Esprit de Corps Award for the JROTC Leadership Championship.

Although they had their doubts and obstacles, they were confident and well-prepared for this test. They were tested on their knowledge of financial literacy, current events, leadership values, and leadership skills. This competition was an opportunity for the JROTC cadets to demonstrate their leadership and academic abilities.

Aside from Formalejo, the other cadets who have successfully advanced to Level 3 of the JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl are cadet 2LT Mechaella De Ramos, cadet 1SG John Lloyd Tuquero, cadet SFC Matz Catindig, and cadet 1LT Dianna Catigan.

Once again, congratulations to Saipan Southern High School’s JLAB Team for advancing through two intense phases of online competition and managing to reach the final competition! (Marie Hembra)