CyberPatriot Crowns National Championship Winners

ARLINGTON, Va., April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After three grueling online preliminary rounds and nearly six months of preparation, the winners of CyberPatriot III, the nation's largest high school cyber defense competition, have been announced!

On April 1, the Air Force Association's CyberPatriot competition concluded its 2010-2011 National Final Competition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center. Out of the more than 450 All Service teams that originally registered, "Team Wilson" of the Civil Air Patrol's Orlando, Florida Cadet Squadron took home the Commander-in-Chief's trophy. As for the Open Division, out of 186 original registrants, "Team Mantrap" of Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver, New Jersey won, taking home the President's Trophy.

Each of the championship winners received scholarships of $2,000 from Northrop Grumman, CyberPatriot's presenting sponsor.

"I am so proud of this team," said National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol Major General Amelia S. Courter of the Orlando Cadet Squadron's win. "To hear from the members about their future career ideas and how the Air Force Association has inspired them and opened doors of opportunity, it is priceless – just priceless."

"For the students [CyberPatriot] means a whole world of doors opening - scholarship monies, eligibility for Honors scholar status at their universities, prospects for job internships, and most of all, networking with industry leaders," said Mandy Galante, a technology teacher for Red Bank Regional  High School and coach for Team Mantrap. "It means a future for my students where their talents will be recognized and nurtured so that they can join the ranks of cyber leaders of their generation."

Created in 2008, CyberPatriot was designed to spark students' interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)- related studies. It also provides students experiential learning about cyber security while exciting, educating, and motivating them to be the nation's next cyber defenders.

CyberPatriot III kicked off last October with more than 660 teams vying for a chance to compete among the top qualifying teams. Forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Japan, Korea and Guam were represented in the two-track competition. Public, private, parochial and home schools registered in the Open Division, while Junior ROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons filled the All Service Division.

The national finals saw five All Service Division teams (one from each Service JROTC program and one from Civil Air Patrol) compete and 12 Open Division teams compete.

The top three teams of each division were awarded in a banquet Friday evening, all receiving scholarships to pursue college or vocational education. For the All Service Division, Buena High School's Army JROTC from Sierra Vista, Arizona, earned 2nd place and Clearfield High School's Air Force JROTC, from Clearfield, Utah, grabbed 3rd. Clearfield was last year's CyberPatriot II national champion.

In the Open Division, Westview High School of San Diego, California, took home 2nd place and Alamo Area Academies of San Antonio, Texas, earned 3rd.

"CyberPatriot is playing a role in developing more cyber-savvy citizens in this country, truly engaging students with hands-on learning toward real-world challenges," said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. "All of the finalists here have proven to be exceptionally talented students, building a keen understanding of the challenging tasks we have given them. I congratulate them all for being among the top 17 teams in the entire nation."

Other CyberPatriot sponsors include founding partners SAIC and CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and strategic partners AT&T, Boeing, General Dynamics, Microsoft, Raytheon, and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

Registration for CyberPatriot IV is now open! More information is available at www.uscyberpatriot.org.

AFA is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in national security. AFA has more than 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 125,000 members. Visit AFA at http://www.AFA.org.

SOURCE Air Force Association