Early 2026 competition results highlight applied learning and workforce-ready skills

UMGC student and cyber team member Matthew Moman

For University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) cyber team member Matthew Moman,聽who is pursuing a聽Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity Technology, competitions go beyond the classroom.聽

鈥淭hey allow me to experience new technologies and real threats,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hey also help me gain knowledge about career progression and the cybersecurity challenges affecting organizations today.鈥澛

In聽2026, the UMGC聽cybersecurity competition team has聽earned聽top placements聽across聽several聽collegiate and industry-sponsored cybersecurity competitions,聽underscoring聽not only the talent and dedication of UMGC鈥檚 learners, but also the university鈥檚 sustained commitment to preparing them with workforce-ready skills.

鈥淭hese events mirror what cybersecurity professionals experience on the job,鈥 said Jesse聽Varsalone, collegiate associate professor of Cybersecurity Technology and coach of the UMGC team. 鈥満诹仙缜 cyber team members are honing skills they use immediately, and they are among the best.鈥澛

A string of national wins to kicks off 2026

In just the first three months of the year, the UMGC team聽earned聽wins in聽offensive, defensive, and聽application聽security challenges. The momentum began January 22 with a first-place finish in the聽World Wide聽Technology (WWT) CrowdStrike Capture the Flag聽(CTF)聽competition. UMGC distinguished itself as the first and only team to solve all 20 challenges, completing them in just four and a half hours of the six-hour event.

Team member Brian Mingus,聽who is pursuing a聽Master of Science in Cybersecurity Management & Policy聽at t 黑料社区, also believes that competitions turn classroom learning into hands-on experience.聽

鈥淐ompetitions ranging from application security to threat hunting all require clear thinking, teamwork, and adaptability,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he practical skill-building and networking has been invaluable for my growth.鈥

Building on聽early聽success with聽back-to-back聽wins聽

The CrowdStrike聽CTF聽performance set the tone for the weeks that followed. On February 18, UMGC secured first place and a perfect score in the聽World Wide聽Technology (WWT)聽F5聽CTF聽Beta Test, followed by a second-place finish鈥攁lso with a perfect score鈥攖he next day in WWT鈥檚 Haystack Hunt for Indicators of Compromise Challenge. On February 27, the team added another first-place finish at the聽BloomCON聽0x0A聽CTF聽competition.

黑料社区 continued聽to perform at the highest national levels at Hack the Madness聽in March, advancing to the Elite Eight and narrowly missing further advancement after a tightly contested match against Cornell University.聽The team closed out聽the month聽with a strong run of first-place finishes. On March 26, it took top honors at the virtual聽Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (MACCDC)聽Hack the Box CTF, an event hosted by UMGC. The momentum聽continued on聽March 27 with a first-place finish at the WWT Zscaler CTF Beta Test, followed by another victory at the inaugural Maryland CTF Competition, hosted by the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) on March 28.

Together, these early 2026 results reflect the strength of UMGC鈥檚 applied learning model, where students gain technical, operational, and collaborative experience under realistic competitive conditions. As cybersecurity threats grow in complexity and scale,聽UMGCs聽focus on experiential learning聽is designed to help聽students聽prepare for聽and make an immediate contribution in聽the cybersecurity workforce.聽

Competitions ranging from application security to threat hunting all require clear thinking, teamwork, and adaptability. The practical skill-building and networking has been invaluable.

Brian Mingus UMGC master鈥檚 student and cyber team member