For the fifth consecutive year, MacArthur High School’s Junior ROTC Highlander Battalion is ending the school year as the Army Junior ROTC state champion in the Oklahoma Drill and Color Guard competition.
Members of the Highlander Battalion attended the contest April 4 at Tinker Air Force Base in Midwest City, competing against Army and Air Force teams from across Oklahoma. They finished the competition as the 2026 Army champions, taking home other awards as well.
In the unarmed division, MacArthur’s unarmed drill team, commanded by Cadet 1st Lt. Jasmine Kirksey, placed first in the inspection phase, second in the exhibition phase and third in the regulation phase.
Cadet Emma Hilburn won second place in the individual unarmed knockout drill and third place in the individual armed knockout drill. Hilburn competed against more than 100 Army and Air Force cadets to win her awards.
In the armed division, MacArthur’s armed drill team, commanded by Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Mahrer, took first place in the inspection, exhibition and regulation phases. The armed (male) color guard team placed third overall. The unarmed (female) color guard team, commanded by Cadet Maj. Izabel Garcia, also won third place overall.
The Highlander Battalion won first place overall in the armed division, with Mahrer winning the Commander’s Excellence Award for being the number one armed drill commander in Oklahoma.
Cadet Lt. Col. Braden Evans, Highlander Battalion commander, won the Cadet Colonel Miranda Dodd Award as the top cadet in Oklahoma.
The Highlander Battalion was recognized by the Oklahoma House of Representatives April 29, with legislators citing members’ achievements at the state competition. Lawton City Council recognized the battalion and individual members at their April 14 council meeting.