NJROTC Tidehawks Win National Academic Competition

It (NJROTC) really gives people an idea of what they can do in the future and prepares some for their life after high school.”

For the third time in its five-year existence, the Peninsula School District Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Tidehawk Company went to Washington, D.C., to compete in the 2026 JROTC Leadership & Academic Bowl (JLAB), June 13-15, and came back as winners.

The Tidehawks’ Leadership and Academic Team, consisting of Cadets Sydney Gardner, Derek Liu, John McDaniel, and Enrico Shein, took first place in the Naval division of academic competition, beating 108 teams from 43 states, Japan, and Guam, out of a pool of over 5,100 teams.

That qualified the Tidehawks to compete in the All-Service JLAB Championship against the top teams from the Army, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force.

The San Diego Scripps Ranch High School Air Force JROTC team won first place June 15. The Tidehawks took fourth. Command Master Chief Robert Stockton, the Naval Science Instructor at Peninsula High School, said cadets qualify for the academic competition by taking two timed exams online.

“They are pretty difficult. They have over six different topics; three of them are grammar, English comprehension, and vocabulary, then mathematics, science, financial literacy, and current events. They have to qualify through two different levels. Level one is the top 30% in the country. Level two is basically the top 1% of all programs.”

The competition is similar to Jeopardy, a knowledge bowl format.

“Once you identify those handful of really top students, we put them on the team together, and they started working it, making magic. The molecules of excellence were just forming right before our eyes,” Stockton said.

The Peninsula NJROTC program launched in 2021 with 87 students. It earned a spot in the annual Memorial Day Parade in 2025, with 126 cadets traveling for the march in the nation’s capital.

Cadet Gardner said that half of her team had been to Washington, D.C., the previous year, when the Tidehawks marched in the Memorial Day Parade. Gardner also traveled to Florida recently for another NJROTC competition called orienteering, a land-based navigation exercise.

Gardner plans on pursuing pre-med studies after high school. “It (NJROTC) really gives people an idea of what they can do in the future and prepares some for their life after high school. I’d say as a woman, it is definitely a bit different than what everyone else will be experiencing, but a good opportunity.”

The male-to-female ratio in Tidehawk Company has improved since it started, according to Stockton.

“We’re about 60% male and about 40% female,” he said. “When we first got started, it was about 15% female. … Our freshman class is majority female.”

Shein said that he has been a cadet for two years. “I like how many different teams there are for participation. I like Stellar Explorers, which is looking at orbits and calculating satellites.” Shein placed third in the nation at the NJROTC Brain Brawl National Championship in May. He is planning on military service after graduation and is hoping to attend the U.S. Naval Academy on a scholarship.

Cadets have earned over $5 million in scholarships since 2022, according to the Peninsula School District. The Tidehawk unit is recognized as one of the best programs in the country, earning Area 23 Most Outstanding Unit, Distinguished Unit with Academic Honors, and competing at national levels.

Key Peninsula News asked the district about a reported recent drop in participation in the program and what may have caused it. According to registration statistics supplied by PSD, there were no significant changes to enrollment in NJROTC from 2023-25, with typically one, two, or three students adding or dropping one of the four Navy Science or drill courses at the semester change.

In January 2026, 14 students dropped Navy Science 4, the class for seniors, and 11 dropped drill, though some or even all of those may have been duplicates.

“Student schedules change throughout the year for various reasons, including shifting interests, academic struggles, or new class availability,” PSD Chief of Schools Michael Farmer told KP News in an email. “Specifically for NJROTC, some students realize the unique environment and commitment aren’t a good fit for them. In addition, some recent enrollment changes were driven by seniors who decided against joining the military, opting instead to take a free period or a different class.”

During an interview with PHS Principal Mike Benoit and PSD Chief Financial Officer Ashley Murphy, KP News asked if there was an incident that led to more students dropping NJROTC.

“Whenever it comes to staff or student issues, discipline outcomes either for staff or students, the district obviously can’t make comments in regards to that,” Murphy said.

Benoit said, “We take any report we get seriously, whether it would be this program or the dozens and dozens of other programs that we have. … It’s common that we’re addressing issues that come up because, as much as we would like there not to be any issues ever, that’s not the reality.”

Murphy added, “My son was in the program, and he left mid-year at the semester term and not because of any issues with the program but because he was also playing football and wrestling and trying to balance the load of athletics with his NJROTC requirements … My daughter was part of the program for three years. She graduated last year as the command master chief petty officer for the NJROTC group, so she was top four and is doing very well. She’s an Air Force intelligence analyst stationed in Japan and has top secret security clearance and all that kind of stuff, so I do also have sort of in-depth knowledge in regards to the program and benefits of the program.”