December 15, 2020 

Granbury Marine Corps JROTC cadets made the finals and placed among the top teams at the Battle of the Brazos robotics competition on December 12, 2020, at Granbury High School. 

Leading the GHS contingent was a squad with Erick Hernandez, Zac Layland, and Dalton Weddle placing fifth among forty teams and earning a community award for donating the most toys to Toys for Tots.  

A second team of Sarah Folsom, Kaylynn Slaughter, and Trinity Streiff placed eighth and received the Energy Award for displaying a high level of enthusiasm and passion at the event. The team of John Elkins, Ricky Layland, and Rhyan Obina were twelfth and competed in an alliance during the finals.  

“We are very proud of the teams and their hard work and dedication the past twelve days preparing for this event,” commented Lt. Col. Scott Casey, the Senior Marine Instructor.  “We exceeded our goals!  It was fun to work with this great group of cadets and it made this an exciting first competition." 

The JROTC team received donated equipment from VEX Robotics, which creates tools for educators and mentors to utilize in and out of classrooms to inspire the world’s next generation of innovators, thinkers and future leaders. With the donation, students are able to develop valuable lifelong communication, teamwork, and leadership skills. 

Coaching the teams were Lt. Col. Casey, 1st Sgt. Johnny Rositas, and GHS information technology teacher Angela Jumper. 

JROTC robotics students next compete in the Legacy Robotics Competition on January 23, 2021.   

Pictured are (left to right):  back – Dalton Weddle, Zac Layland, Ricky Layland, John Elkins, Rhyan Obina; front –   Erick Hernandez, Sarah Folsom, Trinity Streiff, Kaylynn Slaughter.