The Cordell Beacon’s Blue Devil Beat is proud to bring you weekly updates on many school activities, such as upcoming games, fundraisers, club meetings, and much more. This special section will keep you updated on all of the important things happening in and around our school. We will feature interviews from teachers, coaches, and students, giving you an inside look on what is going on at Cordell Public Schools.
The Cordell High School Blue Devil Academic team has offcially started preparing for the 2020-21 academic bowl season, their first practice taking place this past Sunday.
The Devils have chosen to take on weekend practices, due to most of the team being involved in other extracurricular activities. According to head coach Rachel Ray, ”this is a great example of the commitment these students have to the academic team.”
Ray believes the team’s dedication will pay off in competition, telling The Beacon that she expects them to be ranked one of the top four teams this year.
This year’s lineup consists of the following students: Seniors, Bode Gallagher, Gabby Giblet, Flora Walters, Tugger Selman, Spencer Williams, and Gavin Jasmer; junior, Samuel Thomas; and sopho mores, Kadi Cameron, Nate Jackson, and Adam Linsey.
Many of this year’s players are exceptionally talented. Last year Spencer Williams was ranked the seventh highest scoring individual player, and the newest sophomore additions dominated the JH competition at last year’s academic conference, with a first place finish.
The Devils will compete in the Oklahoma Great Plains Academic Conference, made up of 14 western Oklahoma school districts. The team will play 13 games in the two day span of this conference.
Following conference play, the team will battle in the OSSAA Academic Bowl Tournament, districts will be held in October. In November the Devils will play in the regional tournament, their performance in this tournament will determine whether they qualify for Area.
Head Coach Rachel Ray is thrilled to see how the seniors do this year, ”with our team being comprised of mostly seniors this year, I am excited to see the last three years of hard work and dedication result in our highest achievements yet.”
She said, “This group of seniors, who have been on the HS academic team for the past three years, have yet to make it to the Area Tournament. This is our definite goal.”