On Saturday, April 20, members of Lowell JROTC competed against Balboa, Galileo, Lincoln, Mission, and Washington High School in the JROTC Annual Spring Competition. The competition consisted of five separate events: Flag Drill, Exhibition Drill, Drum Corps, Posters, and Raiders. Lowell JROTC earned second place overall, placing first in Posters and , Raiders, and Drum Corps, as well as third in the Flag Drill and Exhibition Drill competitions.
According to senior Ava Moyrong, practices became more frequent leading up to the competition. For Drum Corps, practices were held nearly every single day, even during spring break, despite having a closed campus. “During spring break, we kept all our instruments in my garage, and we had to walk to a park to practice almost every day in the heat,” Moyrong said. “Practice was really tedious, and we really had to lock and sync up.” Sophomore Nicolas Carlin, who participated in both the Drum Corps and Flag Drill Team competitions, attributes their success on competition day to their many practices. “The main preparations for the competition came from practices, and special units perfected their performance for weeks, if not months, in order to secure first place,” Carlin said.
After the competition, Moyrong was pleased with the team’s performance and accomplishments. “I’m really proud of everyone on the team because I got to watch them all grow as individuals,” Moyrong said. “I was really relieved when we put on a good performance and won because it made all the hours of practice worth it.” Carlin was left with mixed feelings as the Drum Corps and the Flag Drill Team landed in different places, but he remained hopeful. “[I] mainly felt bittersweet, as I had placed first with the Drum Corps as their drum major, but came in third for the Flag Drill Team competition, which sucked, but I know we can do better next year,” Carlin said.
With this being Moyrong’s last year on the team, she’s excited to see what the team has in store for the future. “I look forward to what the juniors are going to cook up next year,” Moyrong said. “I hope that they don’t have too rough of a time, but either way, I know they’ll do a good job.” Carlin is also excited, as he has many more competitions lined up for the future. “I do look forward to the future events put on by our cadet leadership, and especially the next two spring competitions I will be in, which hopefully Lowell can win,” Carlin said.
