Cyber Dons Sweep High School & Middle School CyberPatriot Divisions at State Level

Loyola Blakefield swept the podium in the state round of the tenth season of CyberPatriot — the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition — which challenges teams of students across the United States, Canada, and from DoDD schools abroad, to find and resolve cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated environments.

Led by Director of Cyber Science Steve Morrill, our group of Cyber Dons excelled in the state round of CyberPatriot X held during the weekend of Jan. 19–21, demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking skills, and technical knowledge key to a successful career in cybersecurity. The program’s performance earned it 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the Maryland Open High School Division and 1st and 2nd place in the Maryland Middle School Division (see full list of teams below).

“Loyola is proud to once again participate in the AFA CyberPatriot Competition this year,” said Morrill. “This platform is a great way for students to continue to apply the skills they are learning in a fun and challenging way. We are proud of the success of all our teams this year. After the CyberPatriot season, our students will continue their hands-on learning as they move into various internships around the Baltimore area.”

The five Loyola teams that advanced to the regional (high school) and semifinal (middle school) round of the tournament competed once again during the weekend of Feb. 9–11, but scores are still a few weeks out to see if they qualified for the CyberPatriot X National Finals held in Baltimore in mid-April.

Established by the AFA in 2009, CyberPatriot is designed to excite, educate, and motivate students toward careers in cybersecurity and other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future. The CyberPatriot field is divided into three divisions – the Open Division for public, private, and home school teams; the All Service Division for JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, and Naval Sea Cadet Corps teams; and the Middle School Division. Top teams from the preliminary online rounds earn an all-expenses-paid trip to Baltimore for the in-person National Finals Competition, where students compete for national recognition and scholarships.

More information is available at www.uscyberpatriot.org.


The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.
 
 
High School Division Teams 

1st Place – Team Dorado
Drew Haiber ‘18
Greg Peterson ‘18
Chris Ptak ‘18
Nick Kristy ‘18
Manny Spanos ‘20
Michael Chaney ‘19

2nd Place – Team Gold
Jack Connolly ‘18
Henry Ballentine ‘18
Ainsley O’Garro ‘18
Henry Mackay ‘20
Nathan Prouse ‘20
Colin Bowes ‘18

3rd Place – Team Cobalt
Jake Sanft ‘19
Nick Froehlinger ‘19
Thomas Szymkiewicz ‘19
Grant Hewett ‘19
Anthony Bradley ‘19
Henry Erdman ‘19

Middle School Division Teams

1st place – Macncheese
Josh Steinitz ‘22
Baba Shonaiya ‘22
Tony Liberatore ‘22
Ryan Clancy ‘22
Seamus Wyatt ‘22
Brendan Reiners ‘23

2nd Place – FlexSeal
Joseph O’Neill ‘22
Chris Fleschner ‘22
Ryan Nickel ‘22
Thomas McNulty ‘22
Anthony King ‘22
Andrew Terry ‘22
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