Photo By Sarah Windmueller | The Army JROTC Academic Team from Ravenwood High School celebrates their win of the...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON – The Ravenwood High School Army JROTC Academic Team from Brentwood, Tennessee, won first place in the Army JROTC Academic Bowl and second place in the all-service JROTC Academic Bowl, both held June 14 at the Catholic University of America. The JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl is the ultimate test of wit, with only 2% of the top JROTC cadets qualifying for the championship in Washington.
Ravenwood’s academic prowess and exceptional teamwork led them to an undefeated record against 31 other Army JROTC teams at the preliminary matches securing a number one spot in the Army JLAB Playoffs where they received not only a first place trophy, but a spot competing against the top teams from the other four services represented at the competition.
Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, Commanding General of U.S. Army Cadet Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Darrell Walls, Command Sergeant Major of USACC, presented trophies to the teams. In his address, Crockett emphasized the qualities that separate JLAB cadets from their peers.
“The skills you are learning and that you have exhibited all weekend are not just for academic competitions. They are the foundational tools that will drive each of you to become our nation’s future leaders,” Crockett said. “JROTC doesn’t just teach drill or discipline. It develops leaders of character, forges young adults who value selfless service to others, and it encourages every cadet to accept personal responsibility and strive for a meaningful sense of accomplishment.”
For many teams, an invite to the championship in Washington would be enough to satisfy that meaningful sense of accomplishment. Ravenwood set their goals much higher. Previously, the team had secured a third place title at JLAB 2024 and made it to the playoffs during JLAB 2025.
The outcomes of both previous championship bids served as motivation for Cadet Devin Liu, the team's captain.
"Since the first time each of us heard about JLAB and the prestige associated with it, we set our sights on one day lifting the trophy on stage in Washington. We have worked relentlessly over the past three years to achieve this goal with weekly in-person and online meetings after school, not to mention the countless hours spent individually,” Liu said. “Now, as we sit next to each other, not just as teammates but more importantly as friends, we are filled with a sense of pride that no other competition could provide.”
While the competition is held annually in June, the JLAB season starts in the fall with online competitions. While the additional study hours may overwhelm some high schoolers, JLAB cadets take this in stride and use it to their advantage.
“Our cadets take the ACT regularly and all have stellar scores which really helps them with the type of questions in the two online rounds. Once we find out we have qualified for finals, we switch our training focus to quiz bowl style questions with buzzers to hone our techniques,” said the team’s coach, retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Rusel Hays. “We also assign every member of the team specific areas of knowledge to start reviewing and memorizing information such as literature, mythology, astronomy, ancient history, and art.”
Beyond academic knowledge, JLAB requires cadets to strategize as a team. Each match has a toss-up round requiring teams to buzz in for a chance to gain points. After buzzing in the team has only a few seconds to answer before the question is made available to the opposing team.
“One of the most important skills needed for JLAB is word association. There are almost always clues that guide us toward the answer. During a toss-up we try to find clues in our memory and create a mental word map that eventually collapses on a single answer,” Liu said.
This race against the clock often encourages cadets to answer the question before the entire prompt has been read.
“Because we have to compete against other teams who are likely thinking the same things as us, we usually make the decision to hit the buzzer when we’re about 70% sure. We look at every question not as a potential mistake, but as an opportunity waiting to be taken,” Liu said.
Ravenwood’s win at the Army championship led to a nomination to represent the Army at the all-service championship later in the day. After a tense match consisting, for the first time ever, of five teams, Ravenwood came in second place.
“Looking around and seeing dozens of Army teams who were previously opponents but now friends, we were extremely proud and motivated to represent so many amazing individuals and teams,” Liu said.
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2026 14:13 |
| Story ID: | 568402 |
| Location: | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Hometown: | BRENTWOOD, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 124 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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