Cadets Gather for JROTC Drill Meet at North High
JROTC students from throughout the region gathered for the North High School Drill Meet.
Ah, spring, the season of track & field, tennis, soccer…and ROTC drill teams?
For the past quarter century North High has hosted a meet that draws Junior ROTC cadets from around the Midwest region to square off in everything from physical training to marching. The field was somewhat reduced this year since the event fell on Easter weekend but six teams, including one from Topeka, Kansas, still gathered to put each other through an impressive array of paces on Saturday at Polar Bear HQ.
Besides North and Topeka, teams also participated from Central Campus, Waterloo West, Davenport North and Ottumwa.
“Ordinarily we have schools from five states and as far away as St. Louis,” said Major Sean Quinlan, Commandant of North’s Junior Marine ROTC Corps who served as the de facto meet director over the weekend.
On Friday after school the host school cadets were busy prepping the gym for Saturday’s competitions and ceremonies. In the front hallway a table displayed an impressive assortment of hardware the North corps has won in recent years. Was that a bit of host school gamesmanship?
“One of the traditions in this meet is that we are not eligible for the overall team champion trophy,” Major Quinlan said. “Our team competes for awards in the various events but we let the visitors fight it out for the overall top spot.” (NOTE: For those keeping score, the home team won the rifle event and the physical fitness challenge. Central Campus finished 2nd in the overall team standings.)
Flags and banners were posted and positioned in the gym. Boxfuls of trophies were opened and displayed like a golden regiment. The Topekans arrived and changed out of their civvies into shorts and t-shirts before heading over to the track at Grubb Stadium for a run.
First thing Saturday morning everyone reported for duty including plenty of spectators and volunteers to man the concession stand. Event judges were uniformed active duty personnel from various service branches. By noon the vibe was an odd mix of military precision and pizza.
In the main gym squads of grim-faced marchers toed their lines, communicating via stomps of spit-polished shoes and unison staccato clapping as choreographed as their marching lines. Simultaneously next door in the small gym two-cadet teams took the floor for “armed” routines where they tossed rifles back and forth like duet jugglers. Picture the guards at Buckingham Palace baton twirling in a halftime show.
In each event permission was formally requested and granted to enter and exit the drill area and salutes were exchanged, a refreshing change of pace from athletes complaining to referees about perceived bad calls.
By day’s end all of the glittering hardware had been awarded and the troops were at ease, dismissed to relax and enjoy the rest of a beautiful spring weekend.
