The first high school state championship event of the fall season is set for Saturday, and it’s fitting that some of the school’s U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers will take center stage first.

Those student leaders regularly present America’s colors before high school sporting events, but on Saturday the junior officers will lead the quest for a state championship as competitors. They’ll participate in the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s JROTC Team Championship at Maryvale High School, an event that’s been held annually for about 15 years.

But this is the first time that the competition will be recognized by the AIA and streamed live by aia365.com. Saturday’s competition will start at 8 a.m. and wrap up a championship that actually started in September in Flagstaff with obstacle course testing.

Phase II of the championship will strictly test the physical fitness (push ups, pull ups, sit ups, 2 mile run, sprint relay) of the junior officers. Fifteen schools are participating in the JROTC Team Championships.

Each school is represented by 14 students, but only 10 from each team are allowed to participate in each of Saturday’s challenges. At least two female junior officers must participate during each event for each team, and they'll be graded on the same scale as the boys. 

“The (JROTC championship) is a practical experiment,” said Peter Sandberg, the director for Army instruction for the Phoenix Union High School District. “It’s laboratory in teamwork and leadership.”

JROTC championship participants

Flowing Wells

Marcos de Niza

Red Mountain

Carl Hayden

North

Maryvale

Trevor Browne

Betty Fairfax

Camelback

Palo Verde

Cesar Chavez

Metro Tech

Alhambra

South Mountain

Central