O’Fallon high JROTC earns first place in State Fair competition

The O’Fallon Township High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) brought home first place honors in a drill competition at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield on Sunday, Aug. 13.

Not only did the group win first place overall, but they also placed first in the armed regulation drill and the color guard competition. The OTHS team also placed second in the unarmed regulation drill.

“The competition went extremely well. We competed against one of the top teams from Chicago. They recently had their Chicago drill championships, and they pretty much swept it. So then they came here expecting to do the same, but we showed them what the southern schools can really do,” said JROTC Cadet Lt. Col. Blake Janas, a senior who led the armed regulation drills.

This was the first time the OTHS Air Force JROTC has performed at this type of venue, according to Bonnie Janas, the JROTC science aerospace instructor and the group’s adviser.

“For this event, 22 cadets of the 40 drill team cadets, volunteered to come in during their summer break to learn the new drill sequence and compete at the Springfield State Fair,” Bonnie Janas said.

The invitation to compete was extended to OTHS by the Illinois AMVETS Service Foundation. The week before school let out in May, the OTHS Air Force JROTC cadets and instructors built a drill sequence that would fit the space for the State Fair competitions taking place in Springfield and DuQuoin.

“This sequence was adopted by the AMVETS to use as the baseline for the competitions,” said Bonnie Janas, who retired from the Air Force as a senior master sergeant.

OTHS senior and Air Force JROTC Cadet Col. Parker Anderson led the unarmed regulation drills. The drill area for the competition was smaller than the average drill space, so the sequence needed to be modified to fit a smaller drill area, set up on the street, which was no easy feat, Anderson said.

“There were definitely different challenges presented when going to a new competition, especially with sequence changes, the drill space, the outdoor factor — whether it’s pavement or basketball/gym floor — but I feel we definitely adapted and overcame in that sense,” Anderson said.

Preparation time and overwhelming fair noise played roles in the cadets’ ability to maintain focus during the competition, said Cadet 1st Lt. Kyle Harting, a junior and commander of the color guard competition.

“For the amount of time we had, I feel like we did really good, and we will continue to excel with more practice,” Harting said.

The group will compete again Sunday, Aug. 27 at the DuQuoin State Fair.

Then, it’s on to the normal season, which runs from November through May. And the OTHS squad is setting its goals high.

“I hope to win our ninth consecutive Gateway Drill Competition to continue our streak, and additionally, do extremely well at nationals,” said Janas, “because this is going to be the hardest year, as teams from all over the country — California, Texas, New York — are going to be coming in for the competition we are participating in next spring.”

The next Air Force JROTC Drill National Competition in Dayton, Ohio, in March 2018.

This story was originally published August 25, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "O’Fallon high JROTC earns first place in State Fair competition."