Thomas County Central High School JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl (JLAB) team recently qualified for the national 2022 Army JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl Championship. TCCHS qualified in the leadership section, meaning the team ranks in the top 40 among 1,371 teams in its category. 

“I am very excited and proud about our team advancing to nationals,” member Jackson McCorkle said. “Out of over 1,300 programs that competed in JLAB this year, we were among a select few teams that qualified. Thus, I believe our accomplishment is one of great exception compared to other national-qualifying competitions due to the sheer amount of competition present.”

Team members include Jack Emmett, Ryan Swearingen, Zachary Lee and McCorkle. Lt. Col. Kevin Ingram, who leads the TCCHS JROTC program and sponsors the team, said determination and pride propelled these youth to this qualification.

“We are at a disadvantage as a new program as we have only introduced the first two years of the curriculum,” he said. “Through hard work, solid academic prowess, and some common sense, they have worked their way to the championship. I am very proud of them.”

Exclusively for JROTC cadets, JLAB is similar to traditional quiz bowl except it has two content focus areas: academics (9-12 reading comprehension, writing, science and math) and leadership (Army JROTC curriculum LET1-LET4). 

“By participating, cadets learn the values of citizenship, academic competition, and college opportunity,” Ingram said. “The competition creates tremendous opportunities for JROTC cadets by allowing them to demonstrate leadership and academic abilities.”

The JLAB competition’s first round occurred online in November 2021. Qualifying teams advanced to the second round, also online, in February. The top 40 teams in each category (leadership and academics) earned spots at the national championship.

“These tests are a cooperative event, and teamwork is a necessity to succeed,” member Jack Emmett said. “In moving forward to nationals, our team has not only proven our knowledge of the curriculum but our ability to work together as a team.”

Currently, team members are hard at work, prepping to compete at the national level, including studying and reviewing past curriculum lessons and as-yet-untaught years three and four LET (Leadership Education Training) content facilitated by Ingram.

“At the national competition, the format becomes a traditional quiz bowl, with two teams competing at once to answer the most questions correctly,” McCorkle said. “Being in our second year of existence, our team going to the national JLAB competition is a significant development in our history. Along with our drill team accomplishments, we hope to inspire future cadets to live up to a high standard.”

Without the Army JROTC instructors (Ingram and co-commander Jason Dinkins), the team would not be where it is now, Emmett adds.

“As a team, we are preparing every day through our work studying the Army JROTC curriculum,” he said. “Thanks to our instructors, we have achieved a high level of understanding of the curriculum that will be necessary to win the national level competition. As for our goals at the national competition, we will accept nothing less than the best for TCCHS.”

The 2022 Army JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl Championship is June 19-23 at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.