GMC News

Cadet Gavin Ray Represents GMC in State Drill Meet

(Milledgeville, GA) March 26, 2004 – The Georgia State Drill Meet was held March 20, 2004 at Henderson Stadium in Macon, Georgia. All of the participants were first, second or third place winners of their regional competitions, including GMC High School senior, Cadet Gavin Ray, who won Area 4 Regional Competition on March 13, 2004 by placing first in the Individual Exhibition Competition. Cadet Ray competed against students from thirty-one other schools, some of which had two members competing.

In preparation for this state competition, SFC Van Rutledge, GMC High School Color Guard and Drill Team Advisor, and GMC Junior College Cadet Marcello Curtis, worked numerous hours with Cadet Ray to perfect his drill performance in areas such as, originality, precision of movements, difficulty of movement, variety of movement, appearance and bearing, field coverage, and showmanship. The competition allowed 2-3 minutes for this type of drill. For each second less than 2 minutes or greater than 3 minutes, one point was lost per second.

SFC Rutledge said, “Cadet Ray’s performance was fascinating, yet bold. He took the risk of attempting very difficult maneuvers to capture the high points. Cadet Ray spun the nine-pound weapon over his head, behind his back, pulled the weapon from the order arm to port arm using his leg. His performance displayed power and strength as he spun the weapon so quickly one could only see a blur of the color white.”

With his parents, Danny and Virginia Ray, grandmother, Zelma, and other family members there in support, Cadet Ray was named the third place winner, defeated only by last year’s winners from Griffin High School. In the order of schools, Griffin High School was first and Georgia Military College High School was second in this specific competition.

SFC Rutledge, who commandeered the grade sheets, noted that out of the three judges, two judges graded his performance 300 points out of 300. Therefore, those two judges evaluated Cadet Gavin Ray’s performance as “perfect.”