Chico High School Again Takes Top Award at Competition, is Honored by Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 18, 2022 – On Tuesday, May 17, the City of Chico honored the Golden Panthers team from Chico High School, who won the 4th annual 2022 NorCalCyber Mayors Cup. At the Chico City Council meeting, students from the winning team presented the Mayors Cup to Chico Mayor Andrew Coolidge. Last year, Chico High School’s Pablo & the Other People team won the NorCalCyber Mayors Cup. The Mayors Cup will remain at Chico City Hall for another year.
“Each year, teams from throughout Northern California participate in this and this year our team – Chico High’s team, won,” Mayor Coolidge said. “And I have a kid at Chico High, so I’m extra proud of this. Way to go guys!”
“I’m very proud that both years of me being Mayor, you’re bringing home the trophy,” Mayor Coolidge told the students.
The NorCalCyber Mayors Cup 2022, which concluded on April 2 this year, is an annual event bringing together more than 150 participants from middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the region to compete in a single-day event. This year’s NorCalCyber Mayors Cup was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 22 teams participated in the NorCalCyber Mayors Cup, including 16 high school teams, 3 middle school teams, and 3 college-level teams.
The Chico High School Golden Panthers team is composed of high school students Pablo Raigoza, Joye Shen, Simon Fan, Soren Granlund, Devin Cheng. The team was led by Coach Jon Andrew, who also coached last year’s winning team.
The NorCalCyber Mayors Cup brings awareness to cybersecurity careers and provides students an opportunity to engage in team-based learning. The Sacramento County Office of Education hosted this year’s event. The event was organized by SynED, a national non-profit organization that identifies emerging best practices for effective articulation between employers, job seekers, and education providers.
“The Mayor’s Cup is one of my favorite competitions for high school and community college students,” Wendy Porter, Assistant Director of Employer Partnerships at the Butte College North Far North Regional Consortium, said. “Not only does it educate our community on the importance of cyber
education, it gives our students critically needed skills through team based and hands-on learning. By far my favorite part of the event is watching the winning high school team receive their medals and present the trophy to their local mayor.”
“This fourth annual Mayors Cup allowed students from across California to experience cybersecurity education in an inclusive, fun, engaging, and relevant manner,” Jared Amalong, Director of Computer Science and Digital Learning at the Sacramento County Office of Education, said. “I enjoyed observing
the excitement and anticipation of the students during the awards ceremony, students worked hard during the competition and solved really complex challenges that featured cutting-edge cybersecurity content. Dignitaries and leaders from across the state contributed to the excitement. I can’t wait for the Mayors Cup in 2023!”
A perpetual college trophy, which is kept on the campus of the winning team until the next competition, was awarded to the 1st place CR Red Team from College of the Redwoods. The college trophy won’t be changing hands – College of the Redwoods supplied the winning team in last year’s NorCalCyber Mayors Cup. The 1st place team among middle schools was Cyber Force Squad, from Toby Johnson Middle School in Elk Grove.
“What I like about the Mayors Cup is the community that it creates,” said Sean McNally, Northern California Cyber Competition Coordinator for the Sacramento County Office of Education. “It brings all sorts of community members together, like the student, the schoolteacher, the parent, and the administrator. It also brings government officials like the Mayor into community with the others and for a period of time, we’re all talking the same language. We’re all learning what is needed to do better in creating a strong workforce in the cyber security industry.”
“By maintaining this annual Mayors Cup,” McNally added, “it allows us to revisit – Why do we need this, why this is so important, and why is it so important to all age groups in every industry? For the community at large it allows that conversation to take place, between the child and the parent, the child and the educator, the educator and the administrator, and hopefully reach the local government and the media.”
The competition “game” was hosted on the Cyber Skyline platform, the same platform that is used by the well-known National Cyber League (NCL).
The month preceding the Saturday competition featured weekly virtual “Live@5” events with speakers from academia, businesses, the cybersecurity industry, the community, and State and local government joining student and parents. Attendees each day listened to the speakers address the importance of cybersecurity careers and how students can begin their journey to exciting, well-paid careers using the region’s cybersecurity career technical education pathway.
This year, event organizers had Job Developers from local Community Colleges share resume ideas, and representatives from local businesses and municipal employers discussed what they look for in candidates for internships and full-time employees.
Full list of NorCalCyber Mayors Cup 2022 Winners
Middle School
In 3rd Place with 615 points, Cyber Security Guards from Toby Johnson Middle School (First All Girls Team in NorCalCyber Mayors Cup History!)
In 2nd Place with 1070 points, California Cybear Cubs from John Adams Academy Online In 1st Place with 1295 points, Cyber Force Squad from Toby Johnson Middle school
College
In 3rd Place with 525 points, Drummer of Fenrir from Sierra College
In 2nd Place with 885 points, CR Blue Team from College of the Redwoods
In 1st Place with 1910 points, CR Red Team from College of the Redwoods
High School (Greater Sacramento Area)
In 3rd Place with 1550 points, Tribulations from Rocklin High School
In 2nd Place with 1830 points, Pentabytes from Enochs High School
In 1st Place and the recipient of the Mayors Cup with 2115 points, Half Dome from Franklin High School (also received the Laura Chappell Award for Network Traffic Analysis, and Highest Percentage of Accuracy)
High School (North/Far North Area)
In 3rd Place with 445 points, Gianna from Redwood Academy of Ukiah
In 2nd Place with 550 points, Reed Beavers from Chico High School
In 1st Place and the recipient of the Mayors Cup with 860 points, Golden Panthers from Chico High School
About the Sacramento County Office of Education
The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is one of 58 county offices of education in California. Approximately 650 regular and more than 950 temporary and substitute SCOE staff work year-round providing services which complement and supplement those offered by public school districts in Sacramento County. SCOE provides technical assistance, curriculum and instructional support, staff development, legal and financial advice, and oversight to Sacramento County school districts. SCOE plays a leadership role in the delivery of quality education to the students in Sacramento County. SCOE directly educates more than 30,000 children and adults, and provides support services to more than 249,000 students in 13 school districts.
About the North Far North Regional Consortium
California’s Strong Workforce Program (SWP) is an initiative designed to expand career technical education (CE) programs in the state’s community colleges, further improve response to workforce demands, and deliver the skill sets required by our local employers. To implement the SWP, seven regional consortia were established by the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to provide
leadership in the creation and implementation of career education. The North Far North Regional Consortium is charged with coordinating the planning and implementation of the program in the North Far North (NFN) Region of California.
