The Marine Corps JROTC program at North High School is earning more national honors.

This past weekend, North competed at the 2019 Marine Corps JROTC National High School Championship in Arizona. The varsity squad came away as the national runner-ups, while North’s junior varsity squad finished 11th in the air rifle competition.

North’s varsity JROTC squad consists of Kevin Nguyen (who finished 5th overall), Arturo Zaragoza (10th place), Adrianna Campos, and Sydney Krejci. The teams are coached by Gunnery Sergeant Mike Gettler, the JROTC instructor at North High.

The road to the national competition began last November with qualifying rounds across the country featuring more than 250 teams. The top 23 teams went on to the Marine Corps JROTC National High School Championship.

The season is far from over for North. Next month the varsity squad heads off to Anniston, Alabama for the 2019 Armed Forces JROTC Championships. There they will be up against top teams from the Air Force, Army and Navy.

In April, North will also compete at the Western U.S. Regionals as well as the Iowa Junior Olympics, where they will compete to earn their 15th straight State championship