SAN JOSE, Calif., May 10, 2010 - Cisco today announced the winners of the Cisco® Networking Academy® NetRiders Skills Challenge  for high school students, an interactive contest designed by the Cisco Networking Academy to give technical education students the opportunity to showcase their IT and networking skills and to recognize excellence among Networking Academy students.  More than 850 high school students from across the United States and Canada competed in the competition, which consisted of three rounds culminating with a final, live virtual event on April 30, 2010.

NetRiders Skills Competition:

• NetRiders utilizes Cisco's 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 16,000 Cisco Networking Academy students from high school and post-secondary education levels across 82 countries have competed in regional NetRiders competitions over the past year.
• The U.S. and Canada NetRiders Theater Finale competition involved over 30 teams of Networking Academy students competing 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 ten place winners were awarded prizes including $500 gift cards, FLIP video cameras, and Linksys Wireless Routers:
• 1st Place:  Daniel Huber and Gavin Nicol, Winston-Salem Career Center (North Carolina)
• 2nd Place: Kevin Surmik and Adam Thompson, Burnaby South Secondary (British Columbia)
• 3rd Place: Sarah Brown and Jason Smedley, Meridian Technology Center (Oklahoma)
• 4th Place: Mert Kilic and Will Showalter, Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District (Alaska)
• 5th Place: Bryan Fernando and Samuel Sue-Ho, Thomas Edison Vocational & Technical High School (New York)
• 6th Place: Jeremey Adams and Nicholas Nannen, Seneca Highlands (Pennsylvania)
• 7th Place: Brian Brazeal and Aaron Jones, Bellevue West High School (Nebraska)
• 8th Place: Austin Davis and Sophia Wang, Newport High School (Washington)
• 9th Place: Ian Amos-Kroohs and Sean Spencer, Triplett Business and Technical Institute (Virginia)
• 10th Place: Neil Betham and Nicholas Lanam, Livonia Career/Technical Center (Michigan)

Cisco Networking Academy:

• The Cisco Networking Academy is a global technology education program that provides students with networking and technical skills to prepare them for careers in the 21st century.
• Committed to delivering 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.

Quotes:

• Amy Christen, vice president of corporate affairs and general manager of the Cisco Networking Academy said:

"Congratulations to all of the students who competed in this exciting event. We are delighted that the 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."

Supporting Resources:

• NetRiders Web Site: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/us/netriders.html - ~cps
• For more information about the Cisco Networking Academy, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/netacad.

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