Kingston sixth, seventh graders make state in quiz bowl
by Jon Dohrer
Kingston Public Schools
KINGSTON — Several Kingston middle schoolers will be competing in the state quiz bowl meet after taking first place at regionals last week.
The Kingston sixth- and seventh-grade quiz bowl team took first place in the Oklahoma Junior Academic Bowl Association Regional Academic Team Tournament Saturday. The accomplishment came despite the fact that Kingston played with only three of the allowable four players.
The host Redskins defeated Eufala in round 1, and then topped McAlester Lakewood Christian in the semifinals.
Top seed Checotah edged Kingston in the first game of the finals, but the Redskins had only one loss entering the round, so a tiebreaker game became necessary. Kingston won that match to claim the championship and a berth in the state tournament April 13 in Norman.
Nick Mizell led the Redskins in scoring, and combined with Kiefer Stewart and Jacob Whipkey to more than make up for the absence of one team member, according to sponsor Kelly Shipley.
"They did an awesome job," Shipley said. "it just showed they had the will to win, and that's something we've had all year. They just have the drive to pull out a win."
Shipley was particularly proud of the trio for overcoming adversity in the final round. The Redskins didn't start well against Checotah, and trailed significantly at halftime. The Redskins roared back after the break, outscoring Checotah in the second half. While the effort was not enough to complete the rally, Kingston rode the momentum into the final game for the win.
Checotah also advanced to state by virtue of the second-place finish.
Team members who have participated this season but were not available Saturday are Banks Camp, Cullen Camp, Brady Fox, Jamon Shipley and Channing Turk.
The seventh- and eighth-grade team will compete Saturday in regional competition in Dale. In addition to several of the aforementioned students who will participate, the squad will be joined by Samantha Fraize, Zack Meeks and Tanner Strecker, The Redskins enter as the top seed, and Kelly Shipley is optimistic about their prospects.
"We have a pretty strong team," she said. "We have specialists in different areas, plus we have good players that we can substitute in if we need to."
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