Cibola HS JROTC returns to NM following national competition

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Cibola High School Marine JROTC team made the trip to compete at the national level. They say their competitors may not have known where New Mexico was before, but the team made sure they’d remember after the competition was over. 

“It was like a big family trip, I’ve never felt that feeling before,” said Aiden Scruggs.

Aiden Scruggs is part of the Cibola High School JROTC Program, and they just got back from a trip to nationals in Washington D.C.  

He says the level of competition was like nothing he’s ever seen before.

“They had actual DI’s out there, drill instructors, and they were a lot more intense than I was expecting. But then at the same time, I probably should have expected it,” said Scruggs. 

Senior Adrian Goins has been a part of the team his whole high school career, but nationals was a special way to cap off his time with the program. 

“Very, very intimidating, I’m not gonna lie, to see the other teams out there, and they look really, really good. So it’s kind of a nerve wracking thing to be up there, but we pushed through,” said Goins. 

And they came back with more than just experience. 

“Just placing in that was just the best feeling ever,” said Scruggs. 

Their color guard got third place, now the third-best color guard in the nation.

Master Sgt. Pedro Chamorro is the Marine instructor at Cibola, and says wins like these are wins for the whole community. 

“It gives you hope, it gives you the motivation to continue doing what you do because when you see them smile, you see them work really hard, and they see the fruits of their labor,” said Chamorro. 

And they’re already marching on to next year. 

“And I’m glad that it ended off with a bang like I did,” said Goins. Try to focus more on nationals throughout the year, and then take some names.”

The team also just won a state title for color guard two weeks ago as well.