The Michigan City High School (MCHS) Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (MCJROTC) hosted a military drill competition on November 16th at the school’s gym. Schools from Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Romeoville, IL and Portage competed. Judges came from the University of Illinois-Chicago ROTC. MCHS earned third place trophies in Color Guard (Armed Division) and Armed Regulation. Cadet Major Marcus Mantel finished 6th out of 200 cadets in the individual competition.
“The schools that attended are very good,” said Senior Marine Instructor Major Tom McGrath. “This is early in the year for a drill meet, so the schools who competed have been working hard since the start of the school year. All of the Marine schools will be competitive to qualify for the National Championship in Washington, DC in the Spring. And Concordia (an Army school out of Ft. Wayne) has a chance to go to their national championship.”
Master Sergeant Jeff Benak, the Marine Instructor, complemented the Wolves on their performance. “We had a number of inexperienced cadets who stepped up and really drilled well. It is gratifying to see how these cadets have improved in such a short period of time.”
MCHS will be in action next on December 7th when they travel to Portage. That night, they will lead the Michigan City Festival of Lights parade. From now until Christmas, they will be supporting the Salvation Army’s Food and Toys for Tots campaign.