CCMS Academic Team Gets 4th in State Championship Tourney
CCMS Academic Team Gets 4th in State Championship Tourney
On March 17th through March 20th the Calloway County Middle School Academic Team traveled to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in the KAAC academic team state tournament against students from all around the state. The season started with 328 other hopeful middle school teams working toward the goal of a state championship. After three days of competition, the Lakers brought home several recognitions and trophies, including being named the fourth-place academic team for the entire state of Kentucky.
The first team recognition was for the CCMS quick recall team. They began pool play on Sunday against 40 other quick recall teams that qualified for the state tournament. In pool play, the Lakers went undefeated by winning all four games, which qualified them for the “Smart Sixteen” on Monday. In the first round of the Smart Sixteen, the Lakers defeated Campbell County. They followed that performance with a defeat of Royal Springs in the Elite Eight and a defeat of South Warren in the Final Four. The Lakers found themselves in a historic position as they competed in front of huge crowds in the final championship game. After a wonderful performance, the Lakers were narrowly defeated by South Laurel by four questions, which gave them state runner up! The Laker QR team finished the season 29—1 with three tournament championships and a state runner-up trophy. The quick recall team consists of Maya Munoz, Sean Williams, Riley Hudson, Aiden Hooper, Mariana Hughes, Lillie Russell, Divine Ezinma, Sarah Doyle, Ella Martin, Molly Pierce, and Ava Bogard.
The second team recognition was the Laker Future Problem Solving team being named third place in the state! The FPS team composed of Mariana Hughes, Addison Finley, Sarah Doyle, Hillary Bohannon, and Elle Rekow took third place over 40 other teams that qualified for the state tournament. This finish now qualifies the Lakers for the International Future Problem Solving championship tournament, which will be held at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
The individual recognitions were awarded to students who placed in the top 10 of the state for their individual tested area. The first recognition went to Maya Munoz who was named the state champion in general knowledge! She was followed by Ella Martin in fourth place and Aiden Hooper in seventh place. Sean Williams was the sixth-place finisher in the state in the area of individual quick recall. The Lakers had two others reach the semifinal rounds in the area of individual quick recall—Maya Munoz and Ava Bogard. The Lakers also had Maya Munoz claiming third place in Fine Arts, and Aiden Hooper coming in eighth place in the area of science. Other team members contributing to the tournament success were Hayden Gilbert and Collin Naber.
The Laker team was joined on stage by Governor Beshear who presented the trophies to the students in front of thousands of competitors and spectators.