Mt. Diablo High Jr. ROTC captures 2 trophies at National Fitness meet
CONCORD, CA (May 18, 2023) — Mt. Diablo High Jr. ROTC sent a contingent of 24 students and two teachers to Daytona Beach, Florida this month for the All-Service National Fitness Challenge Championships and the MDHS Raider team came back to Concord with two first-place trophies.
Ronnie Mcgee heads the JROTC program and his squad this year racked up wins in local, state and regional competitions to be selected for the Nationals from over 3000 JROTC high school programs around the country.
The squad did fund-raising and got support from the Mt Diablo High Site Council in order to send the team of 10 competitors and 14 additional cadets for four days to Florida. Only one of the students had ever been to Florida before.
The Red Devil Raider team of six boys and three girl cadets won the Co-Ed division for the 3K Run holding a 20-pound PVC pipe in a winning time of 9:49. The other first-place result came in the 900-yard obstacle course where a team of nine won in 1:50.
McGee, who also is co-athletic director and girls basketball coach at the Concord school, said this was quite an accomplishment. “For this to be the first time Mt. Diablo competes in the National Fitness Competition, the Raider team managed to bring home another victory for the whole battalion. The cadets participating pushed hard and gave it their all.” He noted the 14 additional cadets at the competition supported and cheered for their fellow peers.
The cadets comprising the Raider team in Florida were seniors Savion Marin and Alex Alcala, juniors Omar Gonzalez, Milton Mejia Lopez and Jenifer Castro, sophomores Diego Romo, Manual Zuniga, Natalie Dance and Stephanie Zuniga and freshman Diego Lopez.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.