Cadet Elyssa Vazquez, the youngest on the Triton Varsity team, finished third overall in the Nation as an individual at the National Air Rifle Competition, and received a $400 check for her achievement. PROVIDED

Continuing their excellence as a program, Mariner High School JROTC has again taken home a National Championship, its third win in the last three months.

At Camp Perry, Ohio, cadets from Mariner Army JROTC captured top honors at the National Air Rifle Competition that took place March 22 to 23. The cadets were able to finish first overall in the highly competitive Sporter Division, showcasing their teamwork and marksmanship skills at the highest level among 28 teams.

Mariner JROTC coaches and husband and wife, Maj. Bryan Williams and Marybeth Williams, said they are immensely proud of their cadets.

“To achieve any high-level accomplishment requires an inordinate amount of time, commitment and consistency,” Bryan Williams said. “These superstar cadets have absolutely done just that. But, to win a national championship requires each individual to have discipline not only during practice but also on their own, outside of practice time.”

Williams said the cadets learned that high-performing athletes are “24/7 athletes.” That they must be aware of how they spend their time, and how their decisions ultimately contributes to their goals. Decisions such as food and drink choices, extracurricular activities, extra workouts, mental preparation, and above all, taking care of their top priority — academics, needs to be at the forefront. The team’s grade point average is 3.65.

Mariner High School Army JROTC earned top honors at the recent National Air Rifle Competition in Ohio. PROVIDED

“As hard as we train, our mantra has always remained ‘results matter, but the most important priority is building character and life skills,'” Williams said. “Coach Marybeth Williams and I believe if we focus on building a young person’s character, they can accomplish anything they put their minds to.”

The JROTC program at Mariner is no stranger to success. This is the program’s third separate top finish at a national competition over the last 120 days. The first win came at the Junior Air Nationals, also at Camp Perry, in January. Camp Perry is the home of the Gary Anderson Competition Center, named after the most decorated Olympic shooting athlete in American history. Incidentally, Mariner athletes had the honor of meeting Mr. Anderson at its very first national level competition in June of ’22.

“Since then, we have crossed paths with him several times and had private mentoring sessions with him and our team,” Williams said. “He has had a big influence on our success.”

This past year, regional qualifying matches took place across the country between October and December for the Junior Air Nationals. Mariner qualified a Team-1 and Team-2 (or “squads”) for the national match. This was an historic event for the state of Florida to have two squads from one program qualify for a national match. Mariner-1 took first and Mariner-2 took fifth overall.

“We also had three shooters in the top eight overall,” Williams said. “Competing in Ohio was a strategic match to participate in because we knew the biggest national championship would be in Ohio again in March. It served as a rehearsal, so to speak.”

At Camp Perry, Ohio, cadets from Mariner Army JROTC captured top honors at the National Air Rifle Competition that took place March 22 to 23. The cadets were able to finish first overall in the highly competitive Sporter Division, showcasing their teamwork and marksmanship skills at the highest level among 28 teams. Mariner became the first JROTC Army team to win the national championship in 11 years. PROVIDED

Each high school JROTC Program represents a specific branch of military service, with Mariner being an Army program. In February, Mariner once again qualified two squads for the Army Service Championship in Anniston, Ohio at the Civilian Marksmanship Program South Range.

“Frankly, this match was a goal our program set its eyes on three years ago,” Williams said. “No Florida team has ever won the Army Service Championship, and at the time, just making it to the championship podium was a lofty idea.

“After our win in Ohio, our cadet athletes’ confidence grew, but we knew there were many other high-performing teams, to include the three schools who took turns consistently winning the last 12 Army Championships so we had to continue to work hard and never take anything for granted.”

Williams said the focus and discipline of his athletes propelled them to win their second national match at the Army Service Championship and make history for Florida and Lee County, qualifying them for the All-Services JROTC National Championship. Mariner-2 placed ninth overall, narrowly missing the qualification. Cadet Nathan Krokstrom placed first in the individual Sporter class championship and the squad of four all finished in the top 20.

Mariner’s most recent victory can be referred to as “the granddaddy” of youth air rifle championships.

The top seven teams from each JROTC branch of service (Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force) compete for the title of “JROTC national champion.” There are more than 3,400 JROTC programs across the world, of which an estimated 2,000-plus have an air rifle team.

At this competition, college coaches, scouts, and the Army Marksmanship Unit are on hand recruiting athletes and bestowing cash prizes and free air rifles to the winners. The best of the best for the United States showcase their skills after hundreds of hours of training and competing over the past year.

“This is the big one,” Williams said. “Having competed at a national level and understanding the pressure of high stakes twice in the previous two months paid off. Our cadet athletes remain poised and exhibited a core value — believing in oneself and each other.”

After finding themselves in a tough spot after a shaky first day and four points out of first place, Mariner came back with a winning mindset on day two and delivered.

They surged ahead of second place Webb City, Missouri (a two-time former Army Champion) by 37 points to claim the title.

Cadet Elyssa Vazquez, the youngest on the Triton Varsity team, finished third overall in the Nation as an individual, and received a $400 check. Cadet Nathan Krokstrom finished seventh overall, helping Mariner become the only team with two athletes in the eight-person Finals. Mariner also received a $2,000 check from the Civilian Marksmanship Program and a new Crosman air rifle.

“Cadets Vazquez and Krokstrom exhibited incredible consistency, focus and discipline over the two days of competition, resulting in their achievement,” Williams said. “While shooting athletes always want their team to win, deep down these young athletes always set their eyes on ‘making it to Finals,’ an exciting conclusion to shooting matches.”

Mariner became the first JROTC Army team to win the national championship in 11 years.

Coach Marybeth Williams had been rehearsing Finals over the past two months, since Mariner introduced electronic shooting targets to the program. These rehearsals proved to be a game changer, as both of its athletes, as best they could on the national stage, remained calm under pressure. Williams said this type of poise and self-discipline are two of the life skills shooting athletes take with them from the sport, which ultimately will help them find success in all of their life endeavors.

The mission of Mariner’s JROTC is to “motivate young people to be better citizens.” Its after school co-curricular programs are the application tools of the character and leadership lessons taught in the classroom during the school day. Williams said community service is the most powerful tool of the JROTC program — teaching young people to be involved and take charge of their communities.

“Over the past 5 years our program has averaged over 5,000 volunteer hours per year of community service,” Williams said. “While these numbers might sound impressive, what’s more important is the affect these young people have on their communities.”

In the past several years, the Triton’s service learning projects have included delivery of 93 jumbo care packages to military service members serving overseas; donating more than 17,000 pounds of food to fight food insecurity in Lee County; providing thousands of hygiene products in partnership with United Way; and packaging hundreds of toys and craft kits for Golisano Children’s Hospital patients. Cadets are found all over the community performing color guards for community events, performing clean up in parks, helping at assisted living facilities, and volunteering at numerous veteran events.

“It usually only takes one volunteer event for a cadet to realize how rewarding it is to get involved in the community and make a difference,” Williams said. “This inspires young people to adopt a servant leadership ideology. When we announce volunteer opportunities in class, it is remarkable how many cadets want to sign up.

“Championships and trophies are rewarding, however absolutely nothing beats the feeling of making a difference in other’s lives and having a sense of purpose in our own backyard.”