Manta Ray team rules drill competition

 The 16-member Saipan Southern High School’s Manta Ray team emerged as the big winner in the special drill competition held  Saturday at Marianas High School, ruling the contest and earning the slot to vie for the regional title next month.

The Manta Ray team bested two other public high schools on island and was adjudged overall winner in the competition, sweeping the top awards in three of the four categories: armed regulation, color guard, and exhibition.

SSHS will join selected cadets from Rota and Tinian high schools who will comprise the official CNMI delegates to the 8th DBE Drill Competition in Long Beach, California on Feb. 18.

Saturday’s contest was dubbed the “Battle Drill for Long Beach,” which saw the participation of cadets from Kagman High School, adjudged the second best team; Marianas High School, adjudged the second top team; and SSHS, the overall winner.

Lt. Col. Robert Gay, Public School System director of U.S. Army instruction, told Saipan Tribune that this will be the first time that the CNMI Team will be competing in the regional level and the only one to represent the Pacific area that includes Guam, Hawaii, American Samoa, South Korea, and Japan.

A total of 32 cadets will form the CNMI Team, with 16 coming from SSHS that will compete in the regional armed drill. Sixteen cadets will come from Tinian and Rota and they will compete in the unarmed drill exhibition.

Gay said he expects the group to do “really well” at the regional event. If they win the prestigious regional title, that will entitle them to compete in the national contest in Kentucky.

He said the NMI Team will conduct a two-day practice at the competition site prior to the contest proper.

“I saw a lot of pride [today].and I am very proud of all our cadets,” he said about the overall turnout and performance of students last Saturday.

According to Sgt. Maj. Jesse Leon Guerrero, head of the evaluating team from Guam, Team CNMI will have a big chance at the regional event, based on what he saw last Saturday. “They have great potential of getting up there. I think they have a very good chance if they will continue to put in a great effort,” he told Saipan Tribune.

Leon Guerrero’s team was among the 12 evaluators at Saturday’s drill competition.

According to Charles Simon McEntee, SSHS commander for the inspection and armed regulation, the group spent more than a month of diligent practice and preparation for the special drill competition. Despite the limited time, he is proud of the team’s achievement. “It was unexpected and we’re very happy and proud that we made it!” he said.

McEntee believes that the team needs to exert more effort and sacrifice more in order to do well at the regional and national event.

The young commander attributes their latest success to the values they learned from the JROTC program, managing to handle all the pressures of the competition. “I think dedication and motivation is key [in our success today],” he said.

According to Mary Hocog, one of the team members from Rota/Tinian, their group has been diligently preparing for the regional contest and has been practicing with the other group. “I know we will do really good there.because we’re very proud to represent the CNMI and show them what we got here,” she told Saipan Tribune.

The Board of Education, through chairperson Marylou S. Ada and Education Commissioner Rita A. Sablan, both congratulated the participating teams and awarded the championship trophy to the combined team of Tinian and Rota, which will compete in the unarmed drill competition in California.

“Today is a historical moment as we capture the best among the drill teams that’s going to represent the CNMI and the Pacific region in the Long Beach competition next month. We thank our evaluators from Guam and the Army Reserve, the JROTC for the hard work. This is really an important event because our students will compete-for the first time-at the regional level, which will allow them to showcase their discipline and exceptional talents,” said Sablan.

The commissioner described the JROTC program as among PSS’ exemplary programs which develop important values for students. She expressed interest in joining the team at the regional event to provide support and witness their performance.