Harris County High School Army JROTC Excels at Area 5 Drill Competition

---

Authored by: Rachel Crumbley
Photos by: Rachel Crumbley

HAMILTON, GA (MARCH 5, 2024) – The Harris County High School Army JROTC Drill Team showcased their remarkable skills at the National Infantry Museum on Saturday, March 2, at the Area 5 Drill Competition.

The competition featured 10 events, divided equally between male and female categories, including color guard, unarmed squad, armed squad, unarmed platoon, and armed platoon. The Harris County High School demonstrated exceptional skill, securing placements in seven of the ten events.

The male team Color Guard members, Adam Aut, Zachary Williams, Richard Courterier, and Kevin Porter, displayed outstanding discipline and precision in their performances. Meanwhile, the female Color Guard team, consisting of Sophia Cantu, Summer Knight, Dana Gartrell, and Kaydi Hamilton, showcased their exceptional teamwork and skill.

Cadet Lay’Lani Knighton also achieved remarkable success, securing second place in the Cadet Knock-out challenge, surpassing more than 180 participants with her exemplary performance. In this competition, commands are given and those who do not properly execute them are eliminated.

Commending the exemplary performance, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Michael Feret, HCHS JROTC Senior Army Instructor, attributed the success to the dedication and hard work of the students, under the guidance of 1SG (RET) Willie Sutton, who served as the head coach for the drill team. He remarked, “All the students put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to perform at the level they did. As a result, they will be moving on to compete in the Georgia State Drill Competition on March 23, at Griffin High School.”