Hillcrest High School Army JROTC

06/23/2026

Raiders practice starts on July 27th at 7 am.

Don't wait to start then. Start now! Start running now at an easy pace so it is easier when we start for real.

It would be a good idea to go ahead and get sports physicals out of the way but they are not required to start practice.

Also, if you haven't joined the Raiders Sportsyou use code SS4E-LJKR.

Questions? Send us a direct message or reply in the comments.

06/16/2026

The Award Ceremony for the Leadership Bowl National Championship is complete.

Brigadier General Crockett, the US Army Cadet Command Commander, in his speech tonight talked about how hard it was to get to this level of competition. He talked about over 3,500 JROTC programs and over 488,000 JROTC Cadets nationwide. He said that the Leadership and Academic teams that are here are the top 400 cadets of over 57,000 that started this competition in November.

We didn't just come here content with qualifying though, we came to compete!

Your Hillcrest Hornet JROTC team placed 18th overall in the nation out of the 40 teams that made it through that rigorous qualification process. That is out of 1,911 teams that started in November.

All four of our cadets were also awarded with the Douglas MacArthur and George C. Marshall Leadership Awards. These awards are limited to 400 annually among all 488,000 cadets nationwide!

This is a great achievement and a big deal!
Make sure to congratulate cadets Ethan Burt, George Chandler, Daylin Houston, and Micheal McCall for their excellent showing in this national level competition.

Hillcrest High School - SPS
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

06/15/2026

After competing in the Leadership Bowl National Championships on Friday we have spent the last couple of days seeing the sites.

Now we are getting ready for the awards ceremony tonight. If you want to watch, the live stream will be at the link below. It will start at 7:30 eastern/ 6:30 central.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL627wXRH-Y5QLpoYnkS6ebLQWBrwGLRD&si=9KM2Fgn3VPr24qy4

Hillcrest High School - SPS
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

06/14/2026

📣Rising high school seniors📣

The National Scholarship officially opens today for the 2026-2027 school
year!

This is your sign to become a U.S. Army officer through Army ROTC – learning valuable
leadership skills while encountering incredible opportunities outside the normal college
experience – and get your tuition💰 covered.

Start your application today!

|

U.S. Army Recruiting Command | U.S. Army Transformation and Training Command | 2nd "Freedom" Brigade Army ROTC | 3rd ROTC Brigade, The Black Hawk Brigade | 4th Brigade Army ROTC | 5th Brigade Army ROTC | 6th Brigade Army ROTC | 7th Brigade ROTC | 8th Brigade Army ROTC | GoArmy | Secretary of the Army

06/14/2026

06/13/2026

The Leadership Bowl Competition is complete. Now all we can do is wait for the awards ceremony on Monday evening to see how we did.

We are off to the National Mall to see the sites!

Hillcrest High School - SPS
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

06/13/2026

We made it AND we even got 3 hours of sleep.

We are now ready to compete for the Leadership Bowl National Championship in Washington DC. Competition starts at 9:30 am Eastern Time. The awards ceremony won't happen until Monday night.

Coaches can't be inside the competition areas so most photos and videos can be found at the College Options Foundation page.

Hillcrest High School - SPS
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

06/13/2026

Cadet Simon Ballard participated in this year's Missouri Cadet Patrol Academy.

Also, Cadet Ryan Whitlock, a 2025 Hillcrest JROTC graduate, current The Bear Battalion, Missouri State Army ROTC cadet, and Cadet Patrol Academy graduate last year came back and supported the program this year as a counselor.

Congrats to both of them for seeking opportunities that continue to develop their leadership and citizenship skills.

Hillcrest High School - SPS
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

This week, 21 young men & women ages 16-18 from across the state participated in the Missouri Cadet Patrol Academy. American Legion sponsors this week long recruit-like experience. Congratulations to the 54th Class of the Missouri Cadet Patrol Academy on their graduation today!

06/12/2026

Leadership is found outside of your comfort zone.

Our Cadets are learning that lesson first hand today.

Our travel to Washington DC for the National Leadership Bowl has been nothing short of memorable. Bottom line is we were originally scheduled to arrive in DC at about 1 pm eastern. As of 6 pm Central we are stuck in Dallas waiting for our 4th possible flight (3 total cancelations and a bunch of gate and terminal changes all day).

Our last option is scheduled to take off just before 9 pm tonight and arrive in DC at just before 1 am Eastern Time.

We have missed the Opening Ceremony already.

Our competition starts first thing tomorrow morning.

This is the ultimate test for our cadets. Can we buckle down and get the job done despite the challenges? We think so!

Hillcrest High School - SPS
Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO

06/11/2026

Our JROTC Leadership and Academic Bowl Team flies tomorrow for Washington DC to compete in the Leadership Bowl National Championships with the top 40 teams in the nation (out of 1,911 that started). For updates, photos, and videos as the competition is going on and a live stream of the Awards Ceremony on Monday check out the College Options Foundation Facebook and Youtube pages.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeoptionsfoundation
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/

We will also be posting images and updates on this page and on SportsYou.

Teams competing are:

Armwood High School Seffner, FL
Boyd Anderson Military Academy Lauderdale Lakes, FL
Caddo Parish Magnet High School Shreveport, LA
Callaway High School Jackson, MS
Carver Military Academy High School Chicago, IL
Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High School Cocoa Beach, FL
Concordia Lutheran High School Fort Wayne, IN
Denby High School Detroit, MI
Douglas County High School Douglasville, GA
Everglades High School Miramar, FL
Francis Lewis High School Fresh Meadows, NY
Galileo Academy of Science and Tech San Francisco, CA
Hillcrest High School Springfield, MO
Hilo High School Hilo, HI
Hopewell High School Huntersville, NC
James I. O’Neill High School Highland Falls, NY
Kagman High School Kagman, Northern Mariana Islands
Kenwood High School Clarksville, TN
Kingsbury High School Memphis, TN
Lake Braddock Secondary School Burke, VA
Lake City High School Lake City, SC
Meridian High School Meridian, MS
Mustang High School Mustang, OK
North Side High School Fort Worth, TX
Omaha Central High School Omaha, NE
Plano East Senior High School Plano, TX
Richmond High School for the Arts Richmond, VA
Rockvale High School Rockvale, TN
Rossview High School Clarksville, TN
Russell County High School Seale, AL
Sam Rayburn High School Pasadena, TX
South Hills High School Fort Worth, TX
South View High School Hope Mills NC
Sparkman High School Harvest, AL
Summer Creek High School Houston, TX
The Calhoun School Letohatchee, AL
Thomas A. Edison CTE Jamaica, NY
Tombstone High School Tombstone, AZ
Van Nuys High School Van Nuys, CA
West Brunswick High School Shallotte, NC

Springfield Public Schools, Springfield, MO
Hillcrest High Army JROTC Alumni