From the first day of school, the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Raiders wasted no time getting to work. Staying after school every day, singing their cadence, marching, going on 5k runs and doing tedious workouts, they prepared for the challenges ahead. By Saturday, Sept. 7, the Gables Raiders were ready to open their competition season on home turf.
” I think the male Raiders that are going to nationals have made significant improvements from last year. All the hard work they are doing is paying off especially with us getting first place in this competition. I look forward to them continuing to work hard and get better for nationals,” Master Sergeant Mr. Gibson said.
At 5:30 a.m. on competition day, the Gables Raiders assemble to begin paperwork and field preparations for the other participating schools on home turf. The whole group put in mutual efforts, setting up tents, moving bags and bags of weight to the field and setting cones. Miami High, North Miami Beach Senior High and Southwest Senior High rolled in one by one, setting up tents and equipment. Gables Raiders, undeterred by the competition, embraced the challenge with one motto in mind: “slow and steady wins the race”.
As the cadets stretched and geared up with their Operational Camouflage Pattern uniforms for the first event, a 5k run, the supportive cheers of parents and friends echoed from the sidelines. The female and mixed teams set off first, followed by the male teams. Leading the pack, the Gables male team stayed strong until the final lap, where Gables was overtaken for just a minute before getting back into first place.
“On our first competition, I felt nothing less but proud and happy for having such a good team, not just a team but a family because we all have become so close to each other, and that makes it easier to motivate our team members to be better and keep pushing hard. And I’m looking forward to winning nationals and coming back with a trophy, but more important than a trophy come back with good memories and spending good time together,” junior Jimmy Garcia said.
After the 5k, the rucking event followed where cadets strapped on 50-pound backpacks and ran for a mile. The weight tested their endurance, but the Raiders powered through the challenge. Following this was a mini-Raider test consisting of running with dumbells in unison, in zig-zag, crawling and flipping huge tires, requiring the needs of four people on one tire and then a rotation of another.
The final event, the rope bridge, brought the Raiders’ teamwork to the forefront. In this event, cadets must tie knots and string a rope between two trees, navigating across one by one, relying on the coordination of their teammates to succeed. It’s a true test of trust and collaboration, skills the Raiders have sharpened over the weeks of training.
“I feel like we’ve come a long way since last year because now we are on a national team level, and it got us here by pushing and never giving up. Just last year, I was only a First Sargent, but now I’m literally part of the Top 3 and highest rank Battalion Commander, so for this year being my last too, I just want to keep motivating my team, so they overcome every obstacle when I leave, and they keep being the Top 1 in everything. For this year, I look for us to keep improving as a team and keep doing good in the next competitions and look forward to being the best in Nationals,” senior Brandon Lauzardo said.
During the events, Raiders had time to regain their energy by going back to their tents, refilling their water and eating a snack. By the end of the day, Gables had secured a first-place victory, starting their season off with triumph. With their first victory under their belt, the Gables Raiders team is ready for the upcoming challenge of going to nationals in Kentucky and they are ready to conquer it all with their improved team.
“As I said last year to my instructor, I told him the exact words, “I have a good feeling about this year.” As the Raider Commander, we’ve progressed in Raiders so much over time, especially in Numbers. During this year’s first competition, I felt ready to show these schools who we are. I’m looking forward to these other competitions coming up this year… to prove to the schools that we’re finally back after a very long time to show some action,” junior Jorton Cabrera said.
