{"id":152229,"date":"2026-04-10T11:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=152229"},"modified":"2026-04-10T11:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T15:10:13","slug":"ucf-collegiate-cybersecurity-competition-team-advances-to-nationals-after-outstanding-regional-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-collegiate-cybersecurity-competition-team-advances-to-nationals-after-outstanding-regional-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition Team Advances to Nationals After Outstanding Regional Win"},"content":{"rendered":"
Under a high-stakes, simulated cyberattack and mounting pressure, the Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (C3) team proved it can defend, adapt and outperform \u2014 earning first place at the 2026 Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC).<\/p>\n
The team rose above nine competitors, including Tennessee Tech University, Clemson University, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. With the win, Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ advances to the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, which will be held virtually next month.<\/p>\n
Twelve students make up this year\u2019s C3 team: sophomore information technology (IT) majors<\/a> Gabriel Edwards and Maksim Shostak; junior IT majors Logan Autry, Anthony Donnelly, Joseph Durand, Adam Raczynski and Jonathan Styles; senior IT major Ardian Peach; sophomore computer science major<\/a> Tyler Waddell; junior computer science major Benjamin Williams; cyber security and privacy master\u2019s<\/a> student Andy Pompura \u201923<\/strong>; and senior prelaw major<\/a> Noah Magill, who serves as team captain.<\/p>\n Their stellar performance marks Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½\u2019s ninth first-place finish at the Southeast CCDC regional since 2013. Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ earned runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2025, along with first-place titles in special at-large CCDC regionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n “Âé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team.” \u2014 Tom Nedorost \u201902MS<\/strong>, senior instructor and C3 team coach<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The team not only clinched the top spot but also swept all three categories, winning Best in Uptime Service, Best in Business and Best in Defense.<\/p>\n \u201cÂé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½ has historically maintained high service availability levels while under attack by the red team,\u201d says Tom Nedorost \u201902MS<\/strong>, C3 team coach and senior instructor of computer science and IT. \u201cWe lived up to that expectation again this year, which resulted in winning the Best in Uptime Service award.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nedorost adds that the team strengthened its ability to complete technical service requests while hardening systems against vulnerabilities to protect their network, key improvements that led to the two additional category wins.<\/p>\n At each competition, teams are tasked with defending a fictional company\u2019s network against cyberattacks launched by red team members attempting to infiltrate it. All the while, competitors must maintain business operations and respond to customer service requests.<\/p>\nÂé¶¹Ó³»´«Ã½’s Legacy of Cybersecurity Success<\/h2>\n
Putting Cyber Defense Skills into Practice<\/h2>\n