Arlington Troop 111 from Chain Bridge District won the troop championship at the 45th Annual Maryland Scout Orienteering Day on Oct. 23, 2021 at Patuxent River Park near Upper Marlboro, They hung on to first overall even though edged out in the afternoon Score Orienteering by 2nd place Kensington T. 439 from Potomac District.
Joey H. of La Plata T. 1321 in the Western Shores District won the super-tough advanced course in 92 minutes. The fourth perfect score in the 45 years of the event was recorded by older category winners Zack S. & Alex G. of Arlington, leading T. 647 to a best-ever third place out of 45 units.
Hans R. & Max W. of 6th place McLean T.652 were a very close second in that 98-team older category, just ahead of 111’s Matthew Sullivan & Alan McCartney, 111’s Michael Corso & Sam Cruley, Edward Gun & Chad Bo from Patuxent District T. 1033 in Beltsville, and Jimmy Mazel & Liam Merrigan from Arlington T. 164.
Troop 439’s 2nd place, tying their best ever (2011), was a real team effort led by Spenser M., Daniel E., Lance M., Orion C., and the top NCAC Scouts in the 88-team younger category, James T. & Adam A. Troop 191 from King George, Mattaponi District, had three pairs of Scouts in the top 16.
It was NCAC’s most successful year ever at this event, with 14 of the top 21 awards, sweeping all of the top 12 troops except for the 4th and 7th place Baltimore units, a Jersey Shore troop in 5th, and a 9th place Girl Scout camp staff. Troop 111’s team effort tied a 45-year record with its 6th troop title; they hold the record with 11 Top Two finishes, all since 2003 with Dr. Bob Klein and some very adept SPL’s coordinating. One Scout this year was the 20,000th attendee over the 45 years of the event.
Self-guided instruction was followed by a part-instructional, part-competitive course, and then the fun “free-for-all” Score Orienteering with over 400 youth and over 100 adults looking for 45 markers scattered over five square miles. Similar to recent years, the top 10 places in the younger category were captured by 9 different troops, and the top 9 in the older competition were spread out among 7 troops. Each scout and participating adult received two special color maps, and everyone got answer keys, instructional tips, and patches. Over 100 awards were presented.
