MHS Dolphin Battalion completes 3rd Annual Extreme Raider Challenge

CADETS from the Marianas High School Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps participated in the 3rd Annual Extreme Raider Challenge at MHS last weekend.

Three teams competed: an all-male team, an all-female team, and a co-ed team.

Each team raced against the clock to complete a multitude of strenuous physical fitness events, including the Assault Beach Run, the Rope Bridge, pull-ups, the Litter Carry, the Tire Relay, and the Van Push.

This year, there were a few surprise twists, in which the competing teams participated in two emergency events, to test their ability to adapt and adjust to unexpected obstacles.

Every cadet was required to complete each challenge without any physical help, else they forfeited the challenge.

These challenges tested their strength, endurance, and ability to work together as a team.

But perhaps the greatest challenge was the rain, which made the tasks all the more difficult.        

Even still, the young cadets pulled through.

Cadet Maj. Teody Valenzuela, a senior, scored the highest among the males, while Cadet Sgt. Jenny Lin, a freshman, topped among the females.

Valenzuela has been a part of the program for all four years of his high school career, and intends to join the U.S. Army in the foreseeable future, which he credits for his determination to continue being a part of the MHS JROTC program.

 “Getting this medal is kind of like an award for going through three years of Raiders, doing this three times. It’s pretty rewarding and I’m pretty proud of myself for achieving this,” said Valenzuela.

He noted that he found the Tire Relay to be particularly challenging, but was overall grateful to have pulled through with his team.

Although he had to sit out for a few of the events due to some leg cramps, he still managed to get back into the challenge and come out on top as this year’s Best Male Raider.

To future cadets, Valenzuela said that he hopes that they are willing to dedicate their time and will be motivated to join the program and the Extreme Raiders Challenge.

Lin, for her part, shared that although she is this year’s Best Female Raider, there is always room for improvement.

She said she found the Rope Bridge and the running portions of the Challenge to be particularly difficult, especially given the heavy rainfall that day.

 “You have to continue even though you’re tired. I kept telling myself mentally not to give up.”

Lin said that she dreams of being a soldier in the army, which is what motivated her to join the program and persevere through arduous physical training.

To future cadets, Lin highlighted that JROTC is all about teamwork.

 “If you go at it alone, you won’t get far,” she said.

The all-male team placed first with an overall score of 147.5, the all-female team second with a score of 137.25, and the co-ed team third with a score of 110.

The all-male team dominated all of the events, but tied with the all-female team in one of the emergency events.

Cadet Sgt. First Class Marl Balignasay, who led the 10-member all-male team, shared that the hardest challenge for the team was the Assault Run, in which they were tasked with running on the beach in boots, carrying heavy rucksacks under the rain.

He credited the team’s success to each and every single member of the team.

 “They really did me proud as their team leader. My role as their team leader was to keep motivating them and make sure that they’re doing the right thing,” he said.

Balignasay encouraged new and future cadets to take on the Extreme Raiders Challenge.

 “It’s really fun, but tiring. Even still, it’s very enjoyable,” he said.

Cadet 2nd Lt. Ramona Camacho, who led the all-female team, said that although the Challenge was early in the morning, the all-female team was ready to compete.

 “We were ready, since we practiced every other day. We felt really good overall. I’d like to acknowledge my all-female team for really stepping up and competing in this year’s Challenge. Not a lot of females are interested in Raiders, so I’m glad to see some female participants interested in Raiders. Us females are finally getting recognized for something that is not easy to accomplish,” she said.

For the upcoming school year, Camacho said that she hopes to see more cadets interested in Raiders, including young women.

 “It’s definitely challenging. There will be hardships along the way, but it will eventually be worth it in the end,” she said.

Cadet Capt. Evelyn Liu, who led the 10-member co-ed team, said that overall, she felt like this year’s challenge was similar to past years, but there will always be more for the cadets to learn to further improve and grow.

 “My team did great. Of course, we’re not perfect, so there are still things that we need to improve on,” she said.

To future cadets, Liu said that although things may get hard sometimes during the program, not giving up is the key to success.

 “This program really taught me how to be a great leader and I think that this has really made me able to stand before people and do lots of public speaking,” she added.

The Challenge would not have been a success without the help and invaluable support of a unique team of over 10 cadets who oversaw all of the necessary equipment.

Leading this team was Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Vince Silva, who noted that it was quite a task to ensure that the equipment were ready for use, and that the cadets were properly nourished and hydrated throughout the Challenge.

He noted that the rain added a bit of a challenge, including for this support team.

 “There was a flood of rain everywhere. We had to work around that. We were getting wet, getting soaked, and we had to dry things off going back into the building. I’m honestly really proud that they were motivated enough to keep going, even if it rained and even if we didn’t have many competitors. They kept trying, so I wanted to show my support by coming to them, even though it was raining, and by helping them out, whether it was by providing food or water or equipment,” said Silva.

Silva was a part of a similar program when he was in middle school, working his way up the ranks, before deciding to pursue it even further as a high school student.

 “We are not mostly military. We are a bunch of people who are learning how to become leaders while having fun. Keep trying, keep going, and keep being motivated,” he said.

Leading the entire battalion this year is Cadet Lt. Col. and battalion commander Jaibelle Nelmida, a senior, who commended all of the cadets for their participation in this year’s Extreme Raiders Challenge.

 “I’m very proud of them because during the day of the competition, it was storming very hard for several hours, especially during the beginning and towards the middle. Towards the end, it got a little bit sunnier. This is the third year where we’ve gone to essentially compete amongst ourselves, and I’m very proud that the cadets decided to continue on with it, even with the lack of competitors,” said Nelmida.

Throughout the school year, the roughly 200 cadets enrolled in this program go through various training to prepare them for the Challenge.

Around 30 students participated in this year’s Challenge.

In fact, even before the school year commences, senior officers meet to prepare for the upcoming school year and to recruit cadets for the Challenge.

 “Even with the pandemic, I know that kids started working out at home to get ready. Then, as soon as the Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, they came together and worked out together to prepare for the events,” said Nelmida.

Acknowledging March as Women’s Month in the CNMI, and her role as battalion commander, Nelmida encouraged women to continue to thrive in their respective roles.

 “I think that being a battalion commander or being a leader in general is very hard because there is a stigma on women being overly emotional and that can cloud their judgment, but hats off to any leaders, especially women, who strive regardless of the stigma around their roles,” she said.

Nelmida first joined the program as a freshman, making a lot of friends and inspired by the impact the program had on cadets and those around them. 

 “As time went on, I saw how they impact the kids, and I wanted to be part of that,” she said.

This year, the recently disbanded Northern Marianas College Senior Reserve Officers Training Corps returned to serve as evaluators. The 3rd Platoon of NMC was an extension of the University of Guam SROTC.

The evaluators were Daryll M. De Luna, Jamie Paras, Andy Magofna, Devon Pangelinan, Kiran Shresta, and John Laborce.

De Luna, a former MHS Dolphin Battalion commander, shared with Variety his experience with the challenge from competing in the Challenge to being an evaluator.

 “I think that it was a great experience. For the evaluators, it was something that was a little new for some of us. I think all of us have experienced participating in the event, but we had never tried to evaluate the event before, so we had to be creative in a lot of the events that were conducted during the Challenge. It was a little tough, in terms of thinking about the criteria, what to judge on, what kind of materials that we needed, but all in all, it was a wonderful time to challenge the high school students at MHS, so that they could see where they are at physically, and see their critical thinking, as well as their leadership between one another, especially with communication. I think that they went out of their comfort zones, for a few of them, just so that they could reach mission success for the events that they had to go through,” said De Luna.

Sgt. 1st Class Albert Lujan, who has served as the MHS JROTC army instructor for over a decade, said that the cadets and evaluators did well overall in this year’s Challenge.

Seeing many former cadets return to the Challenge, not as competitors but as evaluators, was especially significant.

 “When they graduate and they move on and they choose to come back and want to come back and help the younger kids do what they had done, it’s almost like giving back. They pay it forward. They came back and they were guiding, helping, and mentoring the cadets, even if it was just for one day. It’s always a great feeling to see them come back,” said Lujan.

Although there were many obstacles, he said perhaps the biggest obstacle this year was the rain.

It reached the point where he considered giving the cadets a break.

 “Rain or shine, we’re out there doing what we do. Yes, it’s tough, but we show them how to persevere,” he said.

He hopes to see the JROTC programs from other schools throughout the CNMI participate in the next Extreme Raiders Challenge, hopefully even providing more obstacles or events.

Lujan likewise said he hopes to have the cadets participate at the national level in the future, provided that there will be funding.

 “We say in the Army that complacency kills, so if you’re complacent, that’s usually when bad things happen. We don’t want that. We want the cadets to be on their toes and be ready,” he said.