Elmhurst Cyber Club Wins State, Moves Onto Semifinals

ELMHURST, IL — The Elmhurst Cyber Club recently won first place awards at the state-level competition for Illinois. The club said students competed in the 11th season of CyberPatriot, which is the the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

CyberPatriot’s core program, the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, challenges teams
of students across the United States, Canada, and from military schools abroad, to find and resolve cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated environments, according to the club. The top teams from the preliminary online rounds then earn an all-expenses-paid trip to Baltimore for the in-person National Finals Competition, where students compete for national recognition and scholarships.

The Elmhurst Cyber Club, led by Dr. Dean Jensen of Elmhurst College and a group of dedicated parent mentors, had all four club teams compete in the CyberPatriot X State Round held Jan. 12-13.
The varsity team’s performance earned it Illinois’ First Place award in the top division, for the fourth consecutive year. They earned a spot in the Platinum Semifinal Round to be held next month.

The club said varsity team members are Sophie Ward, Will Phillips, Justin Pajak, Nathan Moskal, JJ Hennessy and Joseph Black.

In addition, a team comprised of Jack Riekse, Peter Quas, Brian Niederman and Martina Lepicki
earned a First Place in Illinois Award in the Gold division. They will compete in the Gold semifinal round, also to be held next month.

Following the semifinal round, the top Platinum teams will advance to the CyberPatriot XI National Finals Competition in Baltimore in April.

The Elmhurst Cyber Club is open to all high school students in Elmhurst. More information on the
Club is available by contacting Dr. Mimi Black, Coach, at mimi@letmimisayit.com.

Photo provided by Elmhurst Cyber Club.