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PCHS Academic Team
By Hannah Thomas
Pendleton County High School’s Academic Team advanced to Governor’s Cup State Competition after coming in first overall at Regional Competition.
The quick recall team started the competition in the Pool Play. They lost their first match to Glasgow High School, but continued to win the next three matches- defeating Connor, Simon Kenton, and Harlan.
This meant that they had the opportunity to advance to the next section of competition- The Sweet Sixteen- for what coach Kimberly Bowen tells us was “…the first time ever that I know about”. The team eventually lost to Paul G. Blazer.
The only teams P.C. lost to- Glasgow and Paul G. Blazer- ended up placing in the top five in the state. There’s no doubt that this shows the hard work of each and every member: Emma Gillespie (Captain), Elissa Blackaby, Matthew Lambert, Jacob Sanning, and Gavin Webster.
As for test-taking, four participants from Pendleton County made it to the state level. Emma Gillespie competed in Mathematics, Jacob Sanning in Arts and Humanities, Matthew Lambert in Science, and Anna Redden in Language Arts.
A new segment was added to state competition as well- individual quick recall. Jacob Sanning represented his team in this competition. Ten competitors would compete simultaneously. In order to progress to the next section of the bracket, competitors needed to answer seven quick recall questions correctly. Jacob tells us, “It was a really intense tournament! I really enjoyed it, and I went up against the top players from across the state.”
Many of the players that went to state competition this year are seniors, which means this is their last year competing, some have had a part in Academic Team since the third grade. They’ve all worked incredibly hard to get as far as they did. Congratulations to every team member!