PACE — On April 22, Pace High School's Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps accepted a first place trophy for the 2021 Navy Drill Nationals Academic, Athletic & Drill Championship.
Annually, 613 schools across the nation compete for a spot in the competition hosted by Sports Network International.
"Over the past four years, Pace NJROTC has been one of the 24 qualifying teams for what is commonly referred to the 'Superbowl' of Navy JROTC, but this year they are No. 1!" said Caitlin Proper of the Pace NJROTC Public Affairs office. "This is the first national championship in the history of Navy JROTC in Santa Rosa County schools."
Traditionally held at Naval Air Station Pensacola, the 2020-21 contest was held virtually. The challenge consists of a maximum 40 cadets competing on five drill teams that includes push-ups, curl-ups, a 100-yard relay, and an academics exam.
Points and scoring
According to the results chart at https://thenationals.net, the maximum overall proportional points (MOPP) available across three categories was 4,500.
Pace scored 4,104.34 for first place overall, Gaither High School was second with 3,776.35 points, and Nease High School was third with 3,745.75 points.
Pace achieved the top score of 877 on the academics exam, and came closest to the maximum of 2,500 MOPP with a score of 2,311.29 in the drill category.
The results for Pace are:
•first overall nationwide, and first in Armed Basic Drill and Academics.
•second in 100-yard Relay and Armed Exhibition Drill.
•third in Unarmed Basic Drill.
•fourth in Curl-ups.
•fifth in Push-ups, Unarmed Exhibition Drill, and Color Guard Drill.
For more information about the competition, including individual and team results, visit https://thenationals.net/navynats.htm.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosas Press Gazette: Pace High School's corps takes first place overall in the NJROTC nationals