KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WVDN) – The West Virginia National Guard’s Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy – North program, located in Kingwood, West Virginia, graduated 65 cadets as a part of Class 65/2-2025 today at Camp Dawson, West Virginia.
Tim Cotter, Event Director for MX Sports and GNCC Racing, served as the keynote guest speaker for the event. During his speech to the graduating cadets, he implored the cadets to continue to develop skills of teamwork, to find good mentors in life, to set goals and strive to be the very best they can be no matter what they find themselves doing, and to always ‘do the right next thing.’
The MCA program is based on the fundamental elements of community, fellowship, and leadership, and the goals the program sets for each cadet to dream, believe, and achieve. Cotter said he believes this provide a solid foundation for the future success of each cadet as they begin new phases of their lives.
“The life skill sets these young men and women have learned here the last 22 weeks have equipped them to thrive and will guide them the rest of their lives,” he stated. “I have no doubt they are going to be leaders and change the face of their communities.
Class 2-2025 has 42 cadets, or 64 percent, graduating the program with a high school diploma. Of those graduating, 42 percent (27 cadets) plan to join the workforce, six percent (4 cadets) plan to join the military, 34 percent (22 cadets) plan to attend a vocational/technical program and one percent (1 cadet) plan to go onto a four-year college program. Seventeen percent of the class (11 cadets) plan to participate in the Mountaineer Job ChalleNGe Program after graduation.
Class 65 represents 20 different counties throughout the Mountain State, with Berkeley County having the highest enrollment for the course with 13 cadets.
Throughout the 22-week program, cadets provided more than 3,231 hours of community service through 44 different projects, a recognized value of more than $112,406.49.
The mission of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy is to train and mentor selected at-risk youth to become contributing members of society using the Eight Core Components in a quasi-military environment during a 22-week residential and one-year post-residential follow-up program. It is a free volunteer program for West Virginia youth ages 16 to 18 years old who are educationally at-risk.
A total of 6,129 cadets have graduated from the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy program since 1993.
Award winners from Class 65 are as follows:
ROBERT C. BYRD DISTINGUISHED CADET AWARD
Cadet Christian Patricola
Moundsville, WV – Marshall County
son of Carolyn and John Burge of Moundsville
ADJUTANT GENERAL’S AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
Cadet Christian Patricola
Moundsville, WV – Marshall County
son of Carolyn and John Burge of Moundsville
LEADERSHIP AWARD
Cadet Michael Echols
Fairmont, WV – Marion County
son of Michael and Gina Echols of Fairmont
CITIZENSHIP AWARD
Cadet Anthony McKenzie
Martinsburg, WV – Berkeley County
son of Candus Sutphin and Tiffany Hagerman of Martinsburg
ACADEMIC CHALLENGE AWARD
Cadet Dakota Toothman
Morgantown, WV – Monongalia County
Son of Sasha Harvey of Morgantown and
Brian Toothman of Core
MOST IMPROVED CADET AWARD
Cadet Elijah Wright
Parkersburg, WV – Wood County
son of Paula Wright and Jeremiah Hamilton of Parkersburg
“ESPRIT DE CORPS” AWARD
Cadet Christian Patricola
Moundsville, WV – Marshall County
son of Carolyn and John Burge of Moundsville
“IRON MIKE” AWARD FOR PHYSICAL FITNESS
Cadet Aiden Stalnik
Keyser, WV – Mineral County
son of Thomas and Andrea Stalnik of Keyser
CAPTAIN JOSEPH L. CULLINAN MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Cadet Gracie Gerwig
Enlisted: United States Navy MOS Damage Control
Ship Date: June 9, 2026
RED CROSS SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Cadet Michael Echols
School: Pierpont Community and Technical College
Field of Study: Culinary
