01/06/09 — Explorer Club wins fifth trophy in six years

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Explorer Club wins fifth trophy in six years

By Staff Reports
Published in News on January 6, 2009 1:46 PM

For the fifth time in six years, the Goldsboro Police Department's Explorers club took home the overall winner tropy at a regional competition.

The event, hosted by the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, pitted the talents of Goldsboro Explorers -- Boy Scouts, ages 14 and older, who practice skills necessary to become crime and emergency first-responders -- against Explorers from Pitt County and Rocky Mount, authorities said.

"I was (really) proud of what they did down there, in putting to use the training that we've gone over," said Sgt. Trey Ball, senior Explorer adviser for the Goldsboro police department.

Senior Explorer Brian Newsome placed in a number of events, which he said made him proud.

"It felt just like being in the Olympics competing -- just crazy, day in and day out, all day Saturday," Newsome said. "Then we had all the awards, the ceremony, and I mean, hearing your name twice in a row here, one time there, it just makes you feel -- it gets those butterflies out."

Explorers who placed first on teams included:

*Domestic violence event: Ian Dillard and Mike Jennette

*Arrest and search event: Ian Dillard and Mike Jennette

*Rapid deployment event: Ian Dillard, Brian Newsome, Justin Lewis and David Grimes

*Crime scene search event: Ian Dillard, Brian Newsome, Chase Serlick, Marcus Lewis

*Building search event: Brian Newsome and Justin Lewis

*Firearms event: Brian Newsome

*Traffic interdiction event: Justin Lewis and Mondo McEachern.

Sgt. Trey Ball thanked Officers Tony Tilghman, Dan Broughton and James Serlick for help with practical excercises, which helped the team prepare, he said.