CCM Student Scores Best in State in IT Competition

A Montville man who is the technology manager for the —and is is a Montville High School grad himself—scored the highest in the state in an IT and networking competition, keeping him in the running for chance to win a trip to Silicon Valley, Calif., according to a County College of Morris news release.

advanced to Round 2 in the Cisco NetRiders North America challenge, which allows students at the postsecondary level to showcase their IT and networking skills through a series of online exams and simulation activities.

Thomsen is participating in NetRiders as a telecommunications systems technology major at the county college. He started working for the district technology department about 10 years ago while he was still a student at .

A total of 700 students across North America took part in Round 1 of the competition in October. Four students in New Jersey advanced to the second round, with Thomsen scoring the highest in the state.

Thomsen is participating in NetRiders as part of his Routing II Cisco networking class at County College of Morris' Morristown/Schuyler Place location.

“This is the first time CCM has entered this competition and we are delighted with Austin’s performance,” said James Johnston, adjunct professor for the Routing II class. “I’ve been very impressed with his level of knowledge and his commitment to designating the amount of time the competition requires.”

Thomsen said he's ready for the next round.

“The competition was a lot more advanced than I anticipated and a good preview of some of things to come as I continue my telecommunications studies at CCM,” said Thomsen. “I’m really looking forward to Round 2 and seeing how well I can do.”

Should Thomsen succeed in Round 2, he then can advance to the final round of the competition in December and compete for the trip to Silicon Valley, awarded to the top four finishers.