CNCC aviation team wins trophy, top pilot awards

RANGELY | In October, the CNCC National Intercollegiate Flying Team (NIFA) spent 10 days competing at the U.S. Air Force Academy with other colleges and universities in the region from Colorado, Utah and Montana.
“I am pleased to announce we finished second in the region behind the U.S. Air Force Academy and have received an invite to the national competition in May hosted by the University of Indiana. Our last trip to nationals was in 2014 and we finished second in the nation among two-year schools,” said CNCC airport manager and chief flight instructor Jason Krueger.
During the course of the competition, CNCC did not have any disqualifications and earned its second safety trophy in four years.
“The judges were very happy with our team safety and organization throughout the week. Also, Will Drbohlav, our flight team captain, won the top pilot in the region award for the most points scored by one competitor during the competition. Will individually accrued 122 points, which was more than a quarter of all our team points. He scored 7 more points than the top air force cadet, and Will is the first top pilot from CNCC since 2010,” Krueger said. He also thanked the other coaches: Nathan Hardin, Kyle Baker and Steve Humann, calling them a “huge help in keeping the team headed in the right direction.”
Final results for CNCC top 20 finishes:
Regional Top Pilot
Will Drbohlav —1st
122 total points
Aircraft Preflight
Matt Harwood—2nd
Isaac Sloan—9th
William Drbohlav—10th
Aircraft Recognition
Matt Harwood—9th
Daniel Quatrochi—11th
Gabriel Newby—19th
Flight Computer
Will Gruening—18th
Flight Simulator
Will Drbohlav—8th
Daniel Quatrochi—10th
Will Gruening—12th
Message Drop
Drop-master Hiro Maruyama —10th
Pilot Matt Harwood
Drop-master Echo Campbell—12th
Pilot Sam Schroeder
Drop-master Isaac Sloan —15th
Pilot Daniel Quatrochi
Drop-master Lexi Topoly —17th
Pilot Kris Kauber
Aircraft Navigation
Pilot Will Drbohlav—4th
Navigator Kris Kauber
Pilot Will Gruening—5th
Navigator Matt Harwood
Pilot Isaac Sloan—13th
Navigator Daniel Quatrochi
Power- Off Landings
Will Drbohlav—5th
Matt Harwood—10th
Daniel Quatrochi—18th
Kris Kauber—19th
Hiro Maruyama—19th
Short Field Landings
Kris Kauber—6th
Hiro Maruyama—10th
Will Drbohlav—11th
Matt Harwood—18th
Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation
Will Gruening—4th
Matt Harwood—6th
Will Drbohlav—9th
Daniel Quatrochi—12th
Isaac Sloan—13th