Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Saturday, March 12, 2011

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Primary division: 1st place to Rosa Parks B, winning four-year scholarships to Kentucky State University

In local academic circles, March Madness peaked Saturday when colleges awarded elementary kids scholarships after the day-long Superintendent’s Cup.

Nearly 2,000 students competed in the Academic Challenge series finale, hosted by Bryan Station High School. After the last showdowns, Rosa Parks B sat atop the primary division, and Meadowthorpe C captured the intermediate prize.

“We’re so proud of all our kids for their participation and hard work,” said Superintendent Stu Silberman, who helped present the awards.

The Academic Challenge program, which is open to grades 2-5, is organized by Fayette County Public Schools and One Community, One Voice. The aim is to foster a culture that encourages children to embrace scholastic excellence, gives students opportunities to compete in rigorous academic contests, and involves parents in their kids’ education.

“Even if you don’t win first, second or third, the hard work you put in preparing is very important,” OCOV chairman Arnold Gaither told students gathered in the auditorium on a sunny afternoon.

Most schools field several teams, each with four to six students. In each single-elimination tournament, three opposing teams square off at a time. After the moderator reads a question, the children huddle and write their team’s answer on a white board. Each round offers 20 questions in core-content subject areas, and the winning team advances.

The annual series includes three Saturday contests: The Invitational, the Principals’ Cup and the Superintendent’s Cup. Here are the results from the March 12 competition.

Primary division finals: (grades 2-3)

• 1st place (with 18 of 20 possible points) – Rosa Parks B, winning four-year scholarships to Kentucky State University: Niam Abeysiriwardena, Palin Bhardwaj, Eric Guo, Ryan Reid and Nancy Zhang.
• 2nd place (14 points) – Meadowthorpe C: William Ding, Brylee Eddy, Flarity Matthews, Jenna McCauley, Claire Qian and Andrew Vogel.
• 3rd place (13 points) – Ashland D: Iris Brown, Dallas Care, Malcolm Murray, Caden Pearson and Olea Woodall.

Intermediate division finals: (grades 4-5)

• 1st place (18 of 20 points) – Meadowthorpe C, winning four-year scholarships to Morehead State University: Brynn Eddy, Indana Fauzi, Zsombor Gal, Samantha Jones, David Ma and Subershan Wignakumar.
• 2nd place (17 points) – Meadowthorpe A: Curtis Crawford, Vandana Dronadula, Ellora Kamineni, Austin Li and Kevin Liao.
• 3rd place (14 points) – Meadowthorpe F:  Eden Alqahtani, Shashank Bhatt, Joe Fortson, Hanmir Jeong, Akhil Kesaraju and Rohith Kesaraju.

Individual competitions

These contests were judged before Saturday’s team tournament, with the results announced during the closing awards ceremony.

Fifth-grade math/science

• Winners of four-year scholarships to the University of Kentucky: Subrat Acharya, Liberty; Usha Adhikari, Julius Marks; Austin Booth, Athens-Chilesburg; Caleb Hill, Lansdowne; Savannah Spedding, Clays Mill; and Yu Wu, Ashland.

Fifth-grade writing

• Winners of four-year scholarships to Eastern Kentucky University: Braden Caudill, Picadome; Kierra Hayden-Jackson, Julius Marks; Kelly Kral, Rosa Parks; Bailey Watkins, Yates; Trace Williams, Lansdowne; and Drake Witt, Athens-Chilesburg.

Fourth-grade writing

• Winners of four-year scholarships to Georgetown College: Hannah King, Garden Springs; Austin Li, Meadowthorpe; Savannah Roberts, Julius Marks; Noah Scott, Glendover; Jeevisha Shukla, Liberty; and Manali Sunkara, Rosa Parks.
• Winners of one-year scholarships to Bluegrass Community & Technical College: Becca Armstrong, Picadome; Nathan Clark, Mary Todd; and Jade Martha, Tates Creek.

Also

• Winner of the drawing for a four-year scholarship to Murray State University: Hanmir Jeong, Meadowthorpe.

Sponsors

In addition to the seven colleges, community supporters include Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky Inc.; U.S. Bancorp; Blue Grass Community Foundation; Community Ventures Corp.; and Keeneland.

The parents' door prizes were made possible by The Haymaker Foundation.

Resources

To find out how a student can get involved, contact the homeroom teacher at school.

For more information about the Academic Challenge, contact Alice Nelson at (859) 381-4307.