Cadets from the Virginia Wing’s Burke Composite Squadron placed second nationally this year in the Cisco NetAcad Challenge, a component of CyberPatriot 17, the Air & Space Forces Association’s youth cyber education program competition.
The Burke Composite cadets made up one of two Civil Air Patrol teams competing in CyberPatriot’s All Service Division national finals, joining an entry from the New Jersey Wing’s Raritan Valley Composite Squadron. The New Jersey Wing team reached the national stage in Bethesda, Maryland, for the third straight year, while its Virginia Wing counterpart appeared for the second consecutive year.
The Cisco challenge involved teams demonstrating their networking knowledge through a quiz and a virtual networking exercise based on Cisco Networking Academy training materials.
This year’s Burke team consisted of:
Cadet Maj. Ronald Zhang
Cadet 2nd Lt. Taiyo Lloyd
Cadet 2nd Lt. Brisha Uprety
Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Cora Newman
Cadet Senior Airman Levi Newman
Caroline Ren served as coach, assisted by Maj. Sara Demyanovich, adviser, and Tech. Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Groff, mentor.
Zhang and Lloyd also competed on last year’s team.
In 2021, cadets from the California Wing’s Fullerton Composite Squadron 56 captured the Cisco challenge and also finished third overall in the CyberPatriot All Service Division. Two years later, Fullerton cadets finished second in the Cisco challenge.
Over the years CAP teams have achieved the following in the All Service Division:
First three times — in 2011, 2012, and 2017.
Second three times — in 2010, 2015, and 2020.
Third five times — in 2010, 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022.
CAP cadets also captured the inaugural Middle School Division crown in 2014.
CyberPatriot is the nation’s largest cyber defense competition, designed to stimulate high school and middle school students’ interest in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
Participating high school and middle school students are placed in charge of securing virtual networks, challenging them to harden simulated computer systems and resolve real-life cybersecurity situations faced by industry professionals.
This year the All Service Division included 1,390 teams, with CAP accounting for 356 — 25.6% of the field, just behind the 362 Air Force Junior ROTC entries. The Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Space Force Junior ROTCs were also represented, as were the Naval Sea Cadet Corps.
The Open Division consisted of 2,890 high school teams, while 754 teams competed in the Middle School Division.
