The JROTC program is based on helping high schoolers grow as leaders, as citizens and as individuals, and the Glenwood Springs High School Color Guard teams demonstrated those values to perfection during the 2025 Rocky Mountain Western Classic Drill Championships, bringing home the gold while competing against top programs throughout the country. 

The Rocky Mountain Western Classic Drill Championships is one of the biggest drill events in the state. Hosted by the US Army JROTC, programs from all over the country made their way to the Centennial State on April 12 to compete in the competition.

The color guard traveled to the Front Range to showcase their months of hard work, and their unwavering commitment to JROTC values carried them all the way to the top—earning them the coveted Golden Eagle trophy. The win came just mere weeks after their command caller had to drop out of the competition. 

“This is a story of resilience and determination,” JROTC Senior Master Sergeant and Aerospace Science InstructorGreg Pfieffer said. “A great example and lesson about overcoming adversity and pressing forward with a shared goal.”

Following a performance in 2024 that left the program unsatisfied, Pfieffer said the team, and himself, knew what had to be done. 

“We were humbled with the results,” Pfieffer said. “We got 16th, so we made the deliberate decision: ‘We need to really start putting in the work. We want to come back next year (this year) and see if we can place in the top five.'”

The color guard routine requires an intense amount of attention to detail. The deciding factor between first and second place can be as miniscule as the positioning of one’s feet, or a noticeable notch in their uniform. 

“Focus, determination, attention to detail and the highest level of discipline are all essential to being successful during the color guard routine,” Glenwood Springs Cadet Mateusz Obrochta said. Obrochta stepped up to call commands in place of the missing cadet, and led his team to the gold medal. 

Obrachta said that losing their command was a huge blow, but in the end they just wanted to see how far their hard work would take them. 

“There wasn’t a lot of motivation at first, but as a group we decided to find a replacement and go do this thing,” Obrochta said. “Calling commands for the first time in competition was different, but it showed me that I could step up and do it. I was pretty nervous, but through so much practice and dedication, I knew we could do it. I’m just so proud of our team.”

The team only had a few weeks to practice with Obrochta at the helm, and went to the competition without a solid idea of how competitive they would actually be. 

Over 50 schools from all over the country travel to Denver every year to participate in the Rocky Mountain Western Classic Drill Championships. Some schools bring as many as 100 cadets and participate in events ranging from exhibition to regulation, and of course, color guard. Schools with larger JROTC programs are able to compete for the Commander’s Trophy. 

The color guard competition was fought between over 30 schools, with Glenwood Springs  coming out on top behind the leadership of Obrochta. Obrochta held the national colors while Cadet Grace Anson carried the Colorado flag. Cadets Ethan Thomson and Barrett Dell were the two riflemen.