Washington Middle School hosted the 7th Annual Washington Invitational Brain Bowl for Middle School and Elementary Youths (WIMSEY) on Saturday, April 2.
There were a total of 30 teams in three different divisions: An Elementary (6th grade and younger) and two different Middle School divisions.
In the Elementary Division of 10 teams, Columbia Independent (CIS) Blue went undefeated to win, and the Columbia Center for Gifted Education's (CGE) C team beat Hallsville for second place.
WMS B competed in the "Contender" Middle School division. The 14 teams in that division were split into two brackets of seven teams and played a round robin. The top three teams in each bracket advanced to the playoffs. WMS B finished third in their bracket with wins over Sullivan A, Union Black, Greenville (IL) B, and Tuscumbia B.
WMS carried over two losses to CIS C and Fulbright (AR) A into the playoffs. They then lost to Fulbright B, CIS B, and eventual Champion Smithton (Columbia) B to finish in sixth place overall. Team members were Cynthia Bade, Eva Lohmeyer (third place scoring medal), Isaac Minard and Preston Wood.
WMS A was in the Challenger Middle School division - six of the best teams in two states playing only against each other all day long. They played a double round robin. After the first pass, WMS A was the only undefeated team, holding a two game lead over Smithton A and CIS A. This lasted until a close loss to Greenville (IL) A in round 9, which was followed by a loss to CIS A in round 10. This left WMS A and CIS A in a tie for the best record, with no more available rounds to play. WMS took the title based on total points scored, 3,750 to 3,475.
Along with the Moberly Tournament in February, and the CIS tournament during Spring Break, this means WMS closed out the regular season with three tournament wins in a row.
Team members were Madelyn Sumpter, Teaguen Riley, Peter Bush and Nathan Oreskovic, who took the top scoring medal.
Brain Bowl Champions
Washington Middle School A Brain Bowl team captured first-place honors at the 7th Annual Washington Invitational Brain Bowl. Team members from left were Madelyn Sumpter, Teaguen Riley, Peter Bush and Nathan Oreskovic, who took the top scoring medal.