AFA Crowns CyberPatriot XVI Champions

ROCKVILLE, Md., March 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CyberPatriot's 16th season came to an exciting end on March 18, with the announcement of the winners of the Air & Space Forces Association's (AFA) annual National Youth Cyber Defense Competition. The competition field started with 5,183 teams and just 28 qualified for the National Finals.

The finals began March 16, when 28 teams representing middle schools, high schools, JROTCs, and other educational organizations from around the world were put to the ultimate CyberPatriot test. After a challenging weekend, the 28 teams attended a banquet on March 18 where the National Champions from each division were announced.

High school teams competed either in the Open Division, which is open to any high school aged team, or the All Service Division for teams from Army, Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps JROTC units, as well as Civil Air Patrol or Naval Sea Cadets.  Middle School Division National Finalists included two middle school teams and a Boy Scout Troop.

• Team Half Dome from Franklin High School (Elk Grove, Calif.) won in the Open Division
• Team W.A.T.T. from Troy High School Navy JROTC (Fullerton, Calif.) won in the All Service Division.
• Team CyberAegis Callisto from Oak Valley Middle School (Escondido, Calif.) won in the Middle School Division.

The full list of winners and runners-up can be found here.

The top three winners in the Open and All Service Divisions received renewable four-year undergraduate scholarships to Gannon University, a silver sponsor of the CyberPatriot program. Members on the winning Open and All Service teams received a full scholarship, while second-place team members received $4,000 each and third-place team members received $3,000 each. In addition, CyberPatriot's newest partner, CompTIA, provided vouchers to all team members from the winning Open Division and All Service team for a free CompTIA certification of their choice.

Four new Cyber All American Awards were given to the CyberPatriot competitors who qualified for the National Finals for four consecutive seasons while in high school. The 2024 recipients were:

• Rohan Juneja from Del Norte High School, Escondido, Calif.
• Safin Singh from Del Norte High School, Escondido, Calif.
• Yannis Smith from the U.S Naval Sea Cadets, Sacramento (Calif.) Division
• Anna Wu from Troy High School, Fullerton, Calif.
• Anna Wu from Troy High School, Fullerton, Calif.

"Congratulations to all of our National Finalists for their outstanding performance to qualify for the National Finals, for the new national champions who rose to the top at this year's event, and to our four new Cyber All Americans," said Rachel Zimmerman, CyberPatriot National Commissioner and Senior Director of Business Operations.

Registration for the 2024-25 CyberPatriot 17 season will open on April 1. To learn more about CyberPatriot and register your team, please visit www.uscyberpatriot.org.

About CyberPatriot

CyberPatriot is the nation's largest youth cyber education program and AFA's flagship STEM program dedicated to strengthening cyber skills among American youth. In addition to the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition for high school and middle school students, the program features AFA CyberCamps, an Elementary School Cyber Education Initiative and Literature Series, a Tech Caregiver certification and community service opportunity, and CyberGenerations—a program aimed at equipping senior citizens with the skills needed to stay protected from cyber threats. For more information, visit www.uscyberpatriot.org 

About AFA

The Air & Space Forces Association is an independent, non-profit 501(c)3 association dedicated to advocating for investment and support for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, and for supporting Airmen, Guardians, and their Families. Founded in 1946, AFA is the single largest entity of its kind focused on air and space power. With more than 113,000 members and 200 chapters spread around the world, our mission is to promote dominant U.S. Air and Space Forces as the foundation of a strong National Defense; to honor and support Airmen, Guardians, and their Families; and to remember and respect the enduring heritage of the Air and Space Forces.

Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCE Air & Space Forces Association