Another school year at Camden Military Academy is coming to a close. The classrooms, barracks, and athletic facilities will remain quiet for a well-deserved Summer break. While many, (if not all) of our students are excited for the final day of school we say good-bye to our Senior Class. These young men are going off to their new adventures and an adventure that they’ll now navigate mostly on their own. Our graduates will attend a wide variety of colleges from The Citadel to Vanderbilt. Quite a few of our young men are also enlisting in the Armed Services. We congratulate these cadets on their accomplishments and wish them well in their future endeavors.
Our school year started with the Spartan Challenge, the annual event fosters camaraderie and esprit de corps amongst the individual companies. Competitions are fun,challenging, and help the cadets learn to rely on one another to overcome obstacles together. It is the essential foundation of developing the brotherhood at CMA. This year, the Spartan Challenge had a unique outcome, both Bravo and Charlie companies tied for first place.
We’ve had many highlights this year in our athletics programs: our track and field team saw several of our cadets make it to the regional meets and qualify in the top tiers. Cadet Cure placed first in the region for the discus throw with a distance of 120-08; and Cadet Snell placed first in the region in the 3200 meter run with a time of 10:35.89; he set a new record at CMA too. Our wrestling team also had several of its members make it to the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) State Championship where Cadets Haire and Routh placed 2nd in their respective weight classes. The Middle School Basketball team had a perfect season within the region and won SCISA 4A Region II.
Our cadets are involved in many other activities as well such as chess and debate and were able to compete this year at the SCISA competitions. Our High School and Junior High School cadets competed at the state and regional levels for National History Day and both are advancing to the National competition which will be held on the University of Maryland campus in College Park, Maryland in June. Advancing in the Junior Group Performance are Cadets Connor Barnes, Stephen Boggs, Nick Nelson, Baylor Roach, and Cole Simon. In the Senior Group Performance are Cadets Andrew Barbee, John Simmons, Caleb Terrell, Zander Duncan, and Jackson DeChant. We have scores of cadets that participate in Scouts and this year two achieved the highest rank of Eagle Scout: Cadet Nathanal Heighton and Cadet Roman Lepekha.
Finally, among the Corps of Cadets, the cadet chain of command has the task of selecting the Cadets of the Semester. Competition among the cadets is intense as they not only have to be above reproach among their peers but they also have to have excellence in academics, and know the Blue Book, that is the regulations of CMA, inside and out. This year’s selections for Cadet of 1st Semester is Cadet Nolan Winnek of Charlie Company; and 2nd Semester is Cadet Matthew Wong of Alpha Company. The Cadet of the Year for 2024 is Cadet Matthew Wong of Alpha Company.
– SCPO Scott Shields