The Brother Martin NJROTC hosted the Area 8 Championship Brain Brawl Academic Challenge on Saturday, January 28. Sixteen teams from around NJROTC Area 8, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, competed in a quiz bowl style tournament for a chance to go to the NJROTC National Brain Brawl. Teams competed in two classrooms against two to three other teams. Topics mostly covered included NJROTC trivia, naval history, military drill, naval customs and traditions, current events and other entertaining questions. Twenty four Cadets from Brother Martin NJROTC assisted with scoring, team escorts and organizing the tournament. Cadet Commander Manny Guillot ‘17 and Cadet Ensign Harrison Hedgpeth ‘19 kept teams moving smoothly and helped to organize the many moving parts of the tournament. Mr. Greg Brown ‘80 and Sgt. Carlos Paiz ‘01 acted as moderators for the tournament. Parents also arranged a lunch for more than 130 people. The afternoon sessions reduced teams through elimination. Four teams from two schools, Neshoba High School and Pace High School, both from the Pensacola, Florida area, faced off in the final round. Neshoba Cadets took first place with Pace finishing second. Brother Martin Cadets enjoyed hosting the competition and spending the day with Cadets from other schools to compare programs. At the end of the day, all competitors and hosts were able to share in the spirit of competition.
