OJH Teams Bring Home First Place Plaques from Northern Valley Scholars Bowl Meet
On Thursday, Feb. 24, Osborne Junior High competed in the Northern Valley JH scholars bowl meet. The first-ever meet hosted by the Huskies consisted of five rounds of competition between the six teams in attendance. Students representing Osborne at the meet were eighth graders Ryah Bertuccelli, Mary Carlin, Taylor Ellenz, Annie Kendig, Tianna Lutters, and Jayla O’Leary along with seventh graders Saralyn Barfield, Porter Choate, Leah McKelvey, and Claire Mick. Osborne’s students competed by grade-level in the round robin meet.
To begin, OJH seventh graders played Thunder Ridge in round one and won, 80 - 10. Choate scored four for the team with help from McKelvey with three and Barfield with one correct answer in the round. Against Stockton in round two, the Osborne team won 70 - 60 as McKelvey correctly answered the sports category tie-breaker question. Choate scored five in the round while McKelvey added the tie-breaker and another correct answer in the winning OJH effort. In round three against host Northern Valley, Osborne fell behind early with an interruption/incorrect answer, and was penalized by losing five points. The team slowly gathered correct answers, but not enough to come up with a victory as they lost the round, 45 - 60. Choate scored four with McKelvey adding one more in the round. By round five, OJH started strong and never looked back as they won big, 80 - 20, over Alma, NE. Choate, again, led in scoring six for the team with McKelvey adding two. In the final round, Osborne’s seventh graders beat Logan, 70 - 50, by answering the last two questions correctly. Choate scored four, McKelvey two and Barfield one.
Although Osborne finished the day with a 4-1 win/loss record, the OJH win over Alma, NE in round four assured the OJH team of the first place plaque. Alma’s team finished in second place.
On the eighth grade side of competition, Osborne held off Thunder Ridge’s attempt to pull ahead at the end of round one for an OJH team first victory of the day, 70 - 60. Bertuccelli, Carlin and Kendig each scored two for the team with O’Leary answering one in the victory. Against Stockton in round two, OJH steadily increased their score to grab a 70 - 30 decision from their opponents. Bertuccelli scored three, with Carlin and Kendig each adding two apiece in the winning effort. Round three against Northern Valley resulted in an Osborne win, 70 - 30. Kendig scored three in the round with help from Bertuccelli and Carlin who each scored two. Round four with Alma, NE, found the two teams trading scores, but when Osborne answered the final two questions correctly, they grabbed a 70 - 50 victory. Carlin was the lead scorer for OJH with three, and had help from teammates Bertuccelli and Kendig who each added two apiece. In the final round of competition, Osborne fell behind early on an interruption/incorrect answer while their opponent, Logan, scored steadily, and took the lead in the round. Osborne’s team kept their composure and gained enough ground to grab their fifth victory, 55 - 30. Bertuccelli and Carlin each scored two for OJH while Kendig and O’Leary each added one apiece.
Osborne’s eighth graders finished the day with a perfect 5-0 win/loss record, and a first place plaque for their efforts. Thunder Ridge placed second in the eighth grade division.
The local teams will travel west to Hill City on Tues., March 1, for a 4 p.m. meet. On Thurs., March 3, OJH will travel east to Rock Hills for a 4 p.m. meet. The final competition for Osborne’s teams will be Tues., March 8, as they compete at Stockton’s 4:30 p.m. meet.