A team of high school students from Aiken County Career and Technology Center CyberPatriots Five Guys and Drives in Warrenville, SC recently concluded an exceptional round of competition in the ninth season of CyberPatriot – the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

Established by the Air Force Association, the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program was created to excite, educate, and motivate students toward careers in cyber security and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future.

CyberPatriot’s core program – the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition – challenges teams of two to six students across the United States, Canada, and other schools abroad, to find and resolve cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated environments. Top teams from the preliminary online rounds earn an all-expenses-paid trip to Baltimore, Md., for the live National Finals Competition, where students compete for national recognition and scholarships.

The CyberPatriot field is divided into three divisions – the Open Division for public, private, and home school teams, the All Service Division for JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, and Naval Sea Cadet Corps teams, and the Middle School Division. Based on the results of two preliminary rounds, CyberPatriot IX high school teams were categorized within their divisions as Platinum, Gold, or Silver Tier teams, with Platinum Tier teams representing the highest scoring teams.

In all, 4,404 teams registered to compete in CyberPatriot IX, including 100 teams from SC.  Fifty-three teams competed in the Open Division in SC.

Led by Coach Amy Marchant, the team of students from Aiken County Career and Technology Center CyberPatriots Five Guys and Drives excelled in the CyberPatriot IX qualifying rounds, demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking skills, and technical knowledge key to a successful career in cybersecurity. The team’s performance earned it a spot in the Southeastern Regional Open Division Round held Feb. 3-5.

“It is definitely a learning experience for the students. There are so many aspects to consider for each operating system and quiz. The students did a wonderful job pushing through the images and scenarios. I am so very proud of how well they did for the first year.  Next year will be even better.” stated Amy Marchant.

2016-2017 Aiken County Career and Technology Center Cyber Patriot Team

Five Guys and Drives
Daniels Drayton-Martin (SBHS)
Josh Embry (NAHS)

Ruben Lopez-Cortes (SBHS)
Jourdon Newman (NAHS)

Matthew Swygert (SBHS)

Coach:
Amy Marchant

Mentor:
Randy Coleman

Top teams in the Open and All Service Divisions’ Platinum Tier and the top three Middle School Division teams nationally will advance to the CyberPatriot IX National Finals Competition from April 3-5.

More information is available at www.uscyberpatriot.org or from the CyberPatriot staff at info@uscyberpatriot.org.

####

The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.

Top teams in the Open and All Service Divisions’ Platinum Tier and the top three Middle School Division teams nationally will advance to the CyberPatriot IX National Finals Competition from April 3-5.

More information is available at www.uscyberpatriot.org or from the CyberPatriot staff at info@uscyberpatriot.org.

####

The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.