Staff reports
The Technical College of the Lowcountry has, for the third year running, made the Top 100 “power rankings” in the National Cyber League’s (NCL) Fall 2025 “ethical hacking competition,” according to a media release from the school.
Coached by TCL’s Cybersecurity Program Director Angel Kern and Cybersecurity Program Director Ronnie Bustamante, this year’s team placed 83rd in overall performance in the national competition which saw more than 8,500 participants from 490 colleges nationwide.
“Year after year our students have shown they are able to go head-to-head with teams from colleges – both community colleges like TCL and four-year institutions – from across the country and perform admirably,” said Kern. “They worked hard and performed well together under pressure. We are very proud of them.”
Every year, students from across the United States participate in the NCL competitions, which offer a way for students to prepare and test themselves against cybersecurity challenges they will likely face in the workforce. Students performed such tasks as identifying hackers from forensic data, running industry tests and audits, recovering from ransomware attacks and other challenges. The rankings measure the students’ abilities to work individually and as a team.
The “Cyber Power Rankings” is a published list of the Top 100 schools within the NCL, according to the League. Making the Top 100 is a testament to the quality of TCL’s programs and dedication of the college’s faculty and staff in helping students to prepare for careers in cybersecurity, Kern said.
This year’s team included cybersecurity faculty and students: Kenneth Casavant, Olivia Ward, Jared Jimenez, Jonathan Eleuterio Candelario, Christian Osborne, Jennifer Crews, Ethan Ascencion, Nicholas Moser, Katherine Ellis, Mark Douglas, Lionel Grant, Gaston Langford, Brandon Biggins, Kenneth Kelch, Michael Freney, Daniel Taylor, Joshua Albridge, Danniella Bekisz, Abigail Mitchum, Randall Noriega, David Andiano, Grant Laseter, Walt Gnann and Guillermo Genovese.
For more information on TCL’s cybersecurity program visit www.tcl.edu/cybersecurity.