News Release, St. Mary’s Ryken HIgh School

The St. Mary’s Ryken Drone club finished 3rd in the Regional Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) competition, thus qualifying the team for Nationals in Muncie, Indiana on Aug. 17. The competition was held locally at Greenwell State Park in Hollywood, Maryland. 

The club moderators are SMR science and Project Lead the Way teacher, Mr. Ed Szymkowiak, SMR computer science teacher, Mr. Marcos Lindekugel, and United States Navy Flight Dynamics Engineer, Mr. Joe Allen. 

Pictured above from left with the club’s drone: Kayla Gormley, Trinity Plemons, Marcus Moher, Michael Mazuc, Thomas Annulis and Matthew Caldwell. Not pictured: Matthew Maieli

The results of the competition are scored by the national organization, The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA).

David M. Higgins II is an award-winning journalist and founder of The Southern Maryland Chronicle. A Baltimore native raised in Southern Maryland, Higgins founded the Chronicle in 2017 and has built it...