Cisco Networking Academy Congratulates Winners of 2010 U.S. and Canada NetRiders Skills Challenge

Competition Showcases Postsecondary Students’ Advanced Technical Skills

San jose, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011 – Cisco today announced the winners of the Cisco® Networking Academy® NetRiders Skills Challenge, an interactive contest designed by Cisco to give technical education students the opportunity to showcase their information communications technology (ICT) and networking skills and to recognize excellence among Networking Academy students. More than 1,000 college and university students from across the United States and Canada competed in the competition, which consisted of three rounds culminating Dec. 8, 2010, in a live virtual event.

NetRiders Skills Competition

• NetRiders is an annual competition that uses Cisco Web 2.0 technologies to create an interactive experience, enhance classroom learning, and motivate young people to further pursue technology education and training.
• More than 10,000 students across 80 countries have competed in regional NetRiders competitions over the past year.
• The U.S. and Canada NetRiders Theater Finale competition involved more than 45 teams representing 42 states and five provinces.
• Networking Academy students competed in a variety of activities, including a timed theoretical exam, a Cisco Packet Tracer network simulation activity, and a Cisco Packet Tracer exam.
• The top 10 winners received prizes, including a grand-prize study trip to Cisco U.S. headquarters in San Jose, Calif., in January 2011, which was awarded to the first- and second-place teams. Other prizes included Flip^TM video cameras and Linksys wireless routers.
• The U.S. and Canada Theater Winners are:
• 1st Place:  Carl Verge and Brian Wilson, Algonquin College (Ontario, Canada)
• 2nd Place:  Jeremiah Shore and Nathan Buchholz, Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (West Virginia)
• 3rd Place:  Alandra Oukrop and Kent Savage, Montana State University-Billings (Montana)
• 4th Place:  Ryan Stalets and Albert Kennis, University of Illinois-Springfield (Illinois)
• 5th Place:  Zachary Lichliter and Donald Block, West Kentucky Community and Technical College (Kentucky)
• 6th Place:  Michael Lowry and Michael Schanck, New Hampshire Technical Institute-Concord (New Hampshire)
• 7th Place:  Michael Antonette and Feng Yang, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (Alberta, Canada)
• 8th Place:  Michael Eckhart and Barry Fedon, Northamption Community College (Pennsylvania)
• 9th Place:  Ross Weseloh and Brian Berg, Lake Area Technical Institute (South Dakota)
• 10th Place:  Nathan Miller and Stephen Mesik, Youngstown State University Academic (Ohio)  

Cisco Networking Academy

• Cisco Networking Academy is a global technology education program that develops curricula to provide students with networking and technical skills and prepare them for careers in the 21st century.
• Committed to providing the highest standard of information technology education to students of all nationalities, genders and economic brackets, the program is designed to offer students real-world skills that will position them for employment and career growth.

Supporting Quotes

Joni Blakeslee, senior manager, Cisco Networking Academy, U.S. and Canada Field Operations
“Congratulations to all of the students who competed in this exciting event. We are delighted that Cisco Networking Academy has been able to provide this opportunity for students to showcase their skills and compete with their peers in an immersive hands-on competition. We look forward to seeing these talented young people continue to pursue technical education in the growing information technology field.”

David Bray, network technology coordinator/curriculum lead, Cisco Networking Academy,
Algonquin College
“I am extremely proud of both Carl and Brian for this well-deserved international recognition. This award has huge implications for their careers and it gives them a third-party, objective measure of their excellence in computer networking. These two students have reached this pinnacle of success not only because of the knowledge and skills gained through hard work within the program of study, but also because they set extremely high standards for themselves, driving them to achieve beyond the boundaries of their course work.”

Supporting Resources

• NetRiders website: www.cisco.com/go/netriders
• For information about Cisco Networking Academy, including how to become a student or academy, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/netacad

About Cisco Systems
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

###

Cisco, the Cisco Systems logo, Flip and Networking Academy are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.

PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date