On Thursday, February 23, the Osborne Junior High Scholars Bowl teams traveled to Long Island to compete in the Northern Valley Junior High Scholars Bowl meet. Besides the host team and OJH, teams from Stockton, Logan, Palco and Thunder Ridge vied for plaques in the varsity and junior varsity divisions of the meet.
OJH eighth graders competing at the meet were: Saralyn Barfield, Porter Choate, Leah McKelvey, Claire Mick, Aiden Nicholson, and Abbigail Spurgin. The seventh grade team competed with a team of four in the junior varsity division. OJH players on the JV side were: Deecon Dill, Klaire Eilert, Olivia Mans, and Carson McKelvey.
In their first round of play, Osborne’s eighth graders defeated Thunder Ridge 90 - 40. Scoring in the round were Choate with five, L. McKelvey with three and Nicholson with one. Next, OJH grabbed a 100 - 10 victory from Stockton as Choate correctly answered six questions in the round with help from L. McKelvey and Nicholson with two apiece. Against Northern Valley in round three, Osborne won 80 - 40. Choate and L. McKelvey each scored three in the round with Nicholson added two in the winning effort.
Osborne continued play in round four against Palco. The team grabbed an early lead by answering the first two questions correctly, but then seemed to stall out as the opponents steadily spaced their correct answers throughout the round. OJH finished with 55 to Palco’s 40 for an OJH victory. Choate scored four, with Nicholson and Barfield chipping in one apiece in the round. In the final round of the day against Logan, Osborne started off slowly in the round, and then suffered a loss of points by an interruption and an incorrect answer. Thankfully, OJH gathered their wits to answer six questions correctly in a row to take and remain in the lead, with the final score being 65 to 35 in favor of OJH. Scoring in the round were Choate with five and L. McKelvey with two.
Osborne finished the varsity rounds with a perfect 5-0 win/loss record and first place at the meet bringing home a nice plaque for their efforts. Second place went to Thunder Ridge followed by Stockton who finished third.
In the junior varsity division of the meet, Osborne played Thunder Ridge in the first round of play. OJH fell behind early in the round, then finally grabbed four correct answers before the final question of the round. But it was not enough, and the team lost 40 - 50. Dill was the lone scorer for the team in the first round. Against Stockton in round two, Osborne took an early lead which they held throughout the round as they allowed only one correct answer from the opposing team. The final score was 60 - 10 in favor of OJH as Mans and Dill split the scoring effort with three each for the team. Round three against Northern Valley started off well as the team answered the first two questions correctly. Northern Valley then ticked off six correct answers which Osborne could not overcome before the end of the round. The final score was OJH 50 to Northern Valley’s 60. Scoring two apiece were Dill and C. McKelvey with one correct answer added by Mans.
Against Palco in round four, Osborne’s team scored 40 to Palco’s 20 for a victory. Dill and C. McKelvey took equal credit for points in the team’s winning round. Round five against Logan proved OJH could hold off a ‘last of the round surge’ from the opponent. OJH finished with 60 over Logan with 30. Dill scored four in the round with help from Mans with two correct answers.
In the junior varsity division, Osborne finished the day with a 3-2 win/loss record which was enough for them to bring home the third place plaque. Northern Valley finished the day in first place with Thunder Ridge taking second in the JV portion of the meet.
Osborne Junior High’s scholars bowl season is quickly coming to an end. The team travels Tues., Feb. 28, to Hill City for a 4 p.m. round robin meet. The following Tues., Mar. 7, the teams will compete at Stockton and will have a 4:30 p.m. start time.