SM North’s NJROTC took first place at the competition on Nov. 3 in Willard, Missouri.

The team competed against three other schools: SM West, Willard High School and Ozark High School.

“It’s our first competition of the year, so it wasn’t that hard,” senior Kelsey Wlezien said. “We usually win that competition, but this time it was pretty tough. All the schools keep getting better every year.”

Despite the tough competition, the North team went on to win first place overall.

“I was excited and kind of surprised at some of the results of the competition,” Wlezien said. “Our unarmed regulation drill, we didn’t get a trophy for that one and that’s one of our best performances. But mostly I was really excited.”