By Shirley Shuman
Competing in the Region 3 Academic Showdown at West Virginia State University, Braxton County High students performed well. Among the 10 teams in the showdown, Braxton teams finished second and third. Nitro High School’s team won first place.
Braxton Team 1, which finished third in the regional competition, includes Emily Garrett, Kurtis Capron, Joel Sigman, and Mason O’Dell. Noah Skidmore, Cooper Belknap, Laura Cain, and Owen McCallister comprise Team 2, which placed second.
Braxton coach Allie Suesli explained that the tournament was bracketed, and the bracketing resulted in her two teams playing each other to determine who played Nitro in the championship. BCHS Team 2 won the Braxton-Braxton match and played against Nitro for first place. Nitro won that match. Both Nitro and Braxton’s Team 2 will compete in the state competition on April 30.
Looking at her students’ results, Suesli noted, “I am incredibly proud of our Academic Showdown teams for their outstanding performance and dedication. Advancing to the state competition is a huge accomplishment, and they demonstrated both teamwork and intellect throughout the season. Their hard work and dedication truly paid off, and I could not be more thrilled with how they represented our school. They were fantastic!”