Golden Eagles Win 7th National Championship!

Embry-Riddle Prescott's Golden Eagles Flight Team earned their second consecutive national championship this past week in Smyrna, TN.  This championship is the seventh for the Prescott campus and the fifth in the last ten years.  Previous championship years were 1993, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007.  The University of North Dakota earned second place while Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach placed third.  The first and third place finishes for Embry-Riddle solidify its place as the leader in collegiate aviation.  Along with the National Championship trophy the Golden Eagles won the Flight Events, Ground Events, and Judges trophies.

Team Trophy Results:

National Championship:

1.  ERAU-Prescott - 465 pts

2.  University of North Dakota - 349 pts

3.  ERAU-Daytona Beach - 332 pts

4.  Western Michigan University - 281 pts

5.  The Ohio State University - 226 pts

Flight Events Championship

1.  ERAU-Prescott - 241 pts

2.  ERAU-Daytona Beach - 184 pts

3.  The Ohio State University - 183 pts

4.  United States Air Force Academy - 161 pts

5.  University of North Dakota - 140 pts

Ground Events Championship

1.  ERAU-Prescott - 224 pts

2.  University of North Dakota - 209 pts

3.  Western Michigan University - 151 pts

4.  ERAU-Daytona Beach - 148 pts

5.  LeTourneau University - 64 pts

Judges Trophy Championship

1.  ERAU-Prescott - 3767 pts

2.  University of North Dakota - 3594 pts

3.  ERAU-Daytona Beach - 3380 pts

4.  Western Michigan University - 3330 pts

5.  Kent State University - 2823 pts

Earning the National Championship trophy this year surely was a TEAM effort as indicated by the results from the top scoring contestant awards.

Top Scoring Male Contestant award

4.  Grant Culver - 93 pts

6.  Andrew Garrett - 80 pts

8.  Peter Grey - 73.5 pts

16. Austin Richey - 53 pts

The Golden Eagles also had two contestants qualify for the National Top Pilot Award.  Earning second place with 77 points was Grant Culver and third place with 66 points was Andrew Garrett.  Both Grant and Andy will be returning for the senior year to make a run at the team's eighth title.

Golden Eagles individual event results:

Power-Off Landing Event

3.  Andrew Garrett

6.  William Bayliss

22.  Peter Grey

33.  Austin Richey

86.  David Moore

Short-Field Landing Event

6.  Andrew Garrett

8.  Austin Richey

11.  Grant Culver

21.  William Bayliss

34.  Peter Grey

Navigation Event

3.  Grant Culver/Ian Burton

6.  Austin Richey/Brandon Anderson

37.  Peter Grey/Nate Visser

Simulated Comprehensive Aircraft Navigation (SCAN) Event

1.  Peter Grey

5.  William Bayliss

6.  Ian Burton

13.  Nate Visser

14.  Grant Culver

Congrats to Peter Grey on his second consecutive first place finish in the SCAN event.

Computer Accuracy

3.  Peter Grey

5.  Grant Culver

7.  Andy Garrett

20.  Ian Burton

21.  Jahvan DeChape

Aircraft Recognition Event

6.  Christopher Purcell

7.  David Moore

14.  Thad Short

15.  Christopher Thelan

17.  William Jacobson

Aircraft Preflight Inspection

4.  William Bayliss

6.  Grant Culver

Instrument Flight Event

10.  Peter Grey

Message Drop

6.  Richard Shupe/William Bayliss

47.  Cassandra Nagle/Austin Richey

80.  Christopher Thelan/Ian Burton

The team’s performance is a result of endless hours of work and practice by each and every team member.  It truly is a TEAM effort that wins National Championships.

The team members are responsible for picking the new team members each fall during the tryout process.  It is here where the national championship process starts.  The efforts of the members during this period pay off as the team has a great balance between youth and experience.  Thirteen of the 18 national contestants will return next year to work there way towards a “Three-peat”.