Skydiving championships soar over Lake Wales

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The skies above Polk County were a busy place over the last few days as some of the world's best young skydivers came together -- literally.

The 2015 U.S. Parachute Association National Collegiate Parachuting Championships wrapped up Friday at the Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales.  More than 100 collegiate skydivers from 16 colleges and universities vied for national titles in accuracy and formation dives.

According to the USPA, teams from the U.S. Air Force Academy and U.S. Military Academy dominated the competition, walking away with most of the gold medals.  Both teams also set a national record in the six-way speed event, in which team members exit the aircraft and work to build a formation in the fastest time possible.

The Air Force set a new national record in round one with a blazing 5.91 seconds  -- the first time in history a team has surpassed the 6-second mark. In round two, the Army team answered with a 5.26-second time to set another national record.

An Air Force Academy cadet also took the accuracy title.  Joseph Gerner dropped from the air and landed dead-center on a 16-inch target a remarkable seven times in a row.