Cordell Elementary’s academic team traveled to their first-ever national competition earlier this month, and while the team didn’t advance to the competition finals, coach Kathy Wedel said there was much for which the team, and the community, should be proud.
“I am so proud of each member of this team,” she said. “They worked hard all year long, even studying on their own during summer break. Who does that?”
The national event was much different from the various local meets in which the team competed during the year, Wedel said. Each round had four parts, including a toss-up round, a bonus round, a 60-second round of themed questions, and a stump the experts round. The questions spanned history, grammar, literature, science, world geography, and classical music and composers.
“This competition was so different from our local meets,” Wedel said. “The moderators were like game show hosts, the competition format was more complicated, and we had audio questions about composers.”
Cordell’s team of Brooklyn Burkeen, Border Dodd, Matthew Fuller, Samuel Lindsey, Ryliegh Long, Dason Ramsay, and Jaylyn Todd traveled to Orlando, Fla., and competed against teams from Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee.
Wedel expressed her appreciation and that of her team to all of the members of the Cordell community who donated to help fund the trip.
“We would like to thank everyone who purchased a raffle ticket, the Cordell Beacon for the promotion page, and the many local businesses and people who donated to make this once in a lifetime trip possible,” she said. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity and support of our community. We are forever grateful for the opportunity to represent our school and we will always remember this experience.”