The Harrisonburg High School Blue Streak battalion visited Orange County this weekend, October 4, to compete against other Raider Teams. Not only did they try to compete against other teams,but they were also trying to do something that hadn’t been done in years, win all 3 categorical trophies (Male, Mixed, and Female). In the end, they did just that.

The day started out for the Raiders at 0600 or 6:00 AM when they had to report to the high school for the hour and a half bus ride to Orange County High School. Everyone was just settling into this routine though as the battalion has consecutive Raider meets every weekend of October. Cadets came to the building with hopeful minds of capturing a trophy to add to the battalion’s collection. Command Sergeant Major Wilder told the cadets that it was “their time”, and that they were “the best”. Some words of inspiration. As cadets boarded the bus, they knew they had to leave it all on the “field” in Orange.

History was to be made for the Male Team (all males) that day. The last time the Blue Streak Battalion had received the overall male team award was four years ago, when Sergeant First Class O’Keefe was the AI (Army Instructor). Cadet 1LT (First Lieutenant), Dylan Grogg, said when he walked in early that morning he was “exhausted”, and “tired”, but he was also “excited because he knew his team was going to try its hardest to make history”. Having worked all week for the event, the team had done just that, make history. They won consecutive first places in the Rope Bridge (making a rope bridge and crossing it in a short amount of time), Tire Flip Relay (Flipping a tire through a course, and flipping it back to its start position), and the 5k (3 Mile Run/Walk). After winning three out of the five events ( Rope Bridge, Tire Flip, 5k, PT Test, and Litter Carry) against the Spotsylvania High School Raider Team, they knew all they had to do was get a second place in either Litter Carry or the PT Test. When the team got in formation for the awards ceremony, c/CPL David Mitongo said, “It was a bad feeling because we didn’t know if we had got 2nd in either event”. Then, towards the very end of the ceremony, it was announced who had won . They had done it, they had won for the first time in four years!

For the Female Team ( all females), the task was simple. The HHS Blue Streak Battalion Female Team had won every single event as an 8 personnel team. c/PFC (Private First Class) Amy Vetosheva said that they had “struggled in practice” but CSM Wilder helped them “get things right”. As the team headed in that morning, they had a feeling of “winning”, said c/PFC Michelle Pineda. But they didn’t just have any ordinary competition, they had Courtland High School females, the ones who had taken the previous three events last season. The females had to “slug it out”, said c/COL (Colonel) Maria Medeiros, as they took an even number of events to that of Courtland. It all came down to one event, the 5k. c/CSM (Command Sergeant Major) Isis Gutierrez said, “ It was tough” as they sprinted the entire 5k to the best of the team’s ability. When it came time for the awards ceremony, they knew they had beaten Courtland, who finished just seconds behind them. When it was announced they had won, it was just a usual thing for the hardcore ladies.

For the Mixed team (male/female team), this was a meet about revenge. The weekend of September 27th, Carroll County had taken the trophy home . c/2LT (2nd Lieutenant) Bessy Jimenez said early that morning that “ the team knew they had to give it 100% or take the L”. After having an entire season filled with loss last year, c/SGT (Sergeant)  Keeshawn Perry said, “We were tired of losing and its time for us to claim our trophies”. The team battled it out with Courtland, who is their nemesis next to Carroll. c/CPL Christian Zuniga said it was all about “Having the one up”. After winning almost all events except two, the mixed team finally established that they were the winning team. At the awards ceremony, they had taken home the trophy.

In the end of it all, the Blue Streak Battalion not only took over 10 trophies home, but they made history. c/COL Maria Medeiros said, “It was an honor to see her teams work so hard and finally accomplish what they wanted”.