MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg cybersecurity students were recognized for their performance and contributions to a No. 95 ranking in the Cyber Power Rankings during the National Cyber League (NCL) fall 2025 season.
Overall, Penn State, with students from multiple campuses competing, placed No. 95 in the Cyber Power Rankings, which ranked the performance of more than 8,520 students from 490 colleges and universities.
Harrisburg students, coached by Andrew Morrow, associate teaching professor of cybersecurity, participated in individual and team-based events during the competition. Students recognized for their participation were Andrew Boyer, Maria Gist, Yvet Gomez, Curtis Lingle, Yandel Principe, Ielon Raykhelson, Ryan Snavely, Daniel Goldstein and Brayden Dow.
“The results that our NCL members achieved, both individually and as a team, clearly demonstrate their interest and passion for cybersecurity,” Morrow said. “They are successfully applying both what they have received from our academic program and what they have learned on their own and from the Cyber Lions club. Employers are especially interested in students who have demonstrated their skills and abilities through events such as the NCL.”
The National Cyber League, powered by Cyber Skyline, is a cybersecurity skills competition that contains real-world cybersecurity tasks that professionals perform on a daily basis. Students who participate in the competition reinforce their learning and develop the necessary skills for the workforce.
Students also earn a skills report that recognizes their abilities and can be shown to an employer to demonstrate the student’s readiness for the job, further bridging the gap from curriculum to careers.
Andrew Boyer, a student majoring in cybersecurity analytics and operations at Penn State Harrisburg and president of the Cyber Lions, said competing in the National Cyber League is fun and a great way for members of the club to get to know each other.
“We were all extremely happy to hear we placed in the top 100 nationally, but that was never the goal. We mainly do these events to make friends, and apply what we have learned from the club and classes to show ourselves the progress we are making in this field. To achieve something like this really motivates everyone to continue their hard work during club meetings and in their cyber classes,” he said.