ROCKVILLE, Md., March 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — CyberPatriot’s 15th season came to an exciting end on Monday, March 20, 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 5,266 teams and just 28 qualified for the National Finals. It also was the first year since 2019 that the National Finals were held exclusively in-person.

The finals began March 18, when 28 teams representing middle schools, high schools, JROTCs, and other educational organizations from around the world were put to the ultimate CyberPatriot test.

“You are truly America’s future and what you are doing in cyber is not only remarkable, but needed,” said AFA President & CEO Lt. Gen. Bruce “Orville” Wright, USAF (Ret.), in his address to the National Finalists during the March 18 opening ceremony. “I want to emphasize that point. We need you. We need your creativity, your ideas, your willingness to share, and your boldness. You are already CyberPatriots, and the name says it all: a dedication to not only cyber, but to something bigger than yourselves.”

After a challenging weekend, the 28 teams attended a banquet on March 20 where the National Champions from each division were announced.

• CyberAegis Tempest from Del Norte High School (San Diego, Calif.) won in the Open Division.
• Runtime Terror from Troy High School Navy JROTC (Fullerton, Calif.) won in the All Service Division.
• CyberAegis Vitalis from Design 39 Campus (San Diego, Calif.) won in the Middle School Division.

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

Cisco, one of CyberPatriot’s diamond sponsors, awarded a total of $51,000 to the Open and All Service Cisco NetAcad Challenge winners of CyberPatriot XV. This is the fourth year that Cisco has awarded scholarships to the Cisco NetAcad Challenge bringing the total scholarships awarded to over $200,000.

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.

Six 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 2023 recipients were:

• Chan Chung from Troy High School
• Akhil Guntur from Del Norte High School
• Johnathan Lin from Del Norte High School
• Brian Ni from Troy High School
• Akshay Rohatgi from Del Norte High School
• Alvin Zheng from Del Norte High School

“Congratulations to all of our National Finals 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 six new Cyber All-Americans,” said Rachel Zimmerman, CyberPatriot National Commissioner and Senior Director of Business Operations.

Applications to compete in CyberPatriot’s 16th 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.

About AFA

An independent non-profit association, the Air & Space Forces Association is the single-largest professional military association dedicated to air and space power and to the advancement of aerospace education at every level. Founded in 1946, AFA is dedicated to promoting dominant U.S. Air and Space Forces as the foundation of a strong National Defense; honoring and supporting Airmen, Guardians, and their Families; and remembering and respecting the enduring heritage of the Air and Space Forces.

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SOURCE Air & Space Forces Association

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