The U Army ROTC has been named the top officer-training program in the western region.

Members of Ute Warrior Battalion-seniors in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corp-presented University of Utah President Michael K. Young with their award for being the top performing class in the region Wednesday.

The award is given annually to the school whose cadets have the best combined GPAs, athletic abilities and scores from leadership tests. The competition includes schools from California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.

“This makes them the kind of Rose Bowl champions of ROTC units,” Young said.

The award, a large carved wooden bear, was held by Brigham Young University for most of the past decade before the U captured the prize.

“We love (taking) it away from BYU,” said Michael Lyon, a senior international business major in the program.

Edwin Fredrick, Lt. Colonel in the ROTC program, said the award reflects the program’s improvement in past years. He said student enrollment in the ROTC has jumped from about 65 to 95 cadets.

“Not only are we getting people, we’re getting people that perform,” Fredrick said.

Kim Peterson

ROTC cadets Josh Negley, Kyle Frazer and Michael Lyon stand beside U President Michael Young while their commander, Lt. Col. Edwin Frederick, presents the trophy indicating the U’s status as the best ROTC program in the Western Region.