Kalamazoo Times

Western Michigan University's Sky Broncos precision flight team secured the National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s 2025 Region III SAFECON Championship, marking their fourth consecutive regional title. The competition was held October 19-25 at Kent State University, where the team also achieved first place in ground events and second in flight events. With this performance, the Sky Broncos will compete in the national SAFECON 2026 event scheduled for May 18-23 at Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Illinois.

The Sky Broncos competed against teams from Bowling Green State University, Kent State, and The Ohio State University. Points were awarded to members who placed in the top ten across various flight and ground categories. Dylan Van Holton led the team by earning the top pilot distinction, a title maintained by WMU since 2016.

“This year’s team has worked very hard over the short season leading up to the regional competition,” said Coach Nick Olnhausen. “Our biggest challenge this year was the amount of turnover from last year’s team. There were many team members who stepped up into new roles while bringing new members up to speed in their events. It was awesome to see everyone working together to elevate the team as a whole.”

The 15-member Sky Broncos roster included several standout performances:

- Jett Boettcher placed tenth in aircraft recognition.

- Andrew Callaghan finished as ninth top pilot and took second place in short field landing.

- Sean Edelman earned second place in simulated comprehensive aircraft navigation.

- Lucas Foster secured second place in computer accuracy.

- Nancy Hohlbein ranked second as safety observer in unlimited navigation and placed third in computer accuracy.

- Gerald Lucas finished fourth in aircraft preflight inspection.

- Andrew Maciejewski won first place in computer accuracy and was recognized among the top scoring contestants.

- Nathan Merrill was voted Western’s outstanding team member.

- Naman Mody finished as fourth top pilot and fifth overall scoring contestant.

- Sebastian Osburn took eighth place in aircraft recognition.

- Nicklas Pederson placed sixth in aviation maintenance.

- Rachel Renshaw is a first-year student on the team.

- Seth Shapiro placed fourth in computer accuracy.

- Daniel Souppa ranked as sixth top pilot with multiple event placements.

- Dylan Van Holton was named both top pilot and top scoring contestant.

The full list of results can be viewed online through WMU News.