PORTSMOUTH- Wheelersburg Middle School won the South Central Ohio Educational Service Center’s (ESC) Middle School Quiz Bowl Tournament Wednesday, Oct. 18, winning over the Runner-Up team from Valley Middle School.

Eighty-five students competed from nine school districts, including Green, Minford, New Boston, Northwest, Notre Dame, Portsmouth, Valley, West, and Wheelersburg.

“The Middle School division is made up of fifth and sixth graders. Their competition includes six different categories, including Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts and Religion/Mythology. Then there’s the Alphabet Round where students are given a written list of clues that have answers all beginning with the same letter and the competition concludes with twelve Lightning Round questions that can include questions from any category,” explained Sharee Price, director of the ESC Gifted Services Department.

The first seed of tournament was played in two rounds, where Wheelersburg and Valley finished undefeated 2-0, which allowed them to advance to finals. Wheelersburg won the championship round making them the 2023 county champions.

The Wheelersburg Middle School Quiz Bowl Coach is Heather Mullins and the Valley Middle School Quiz Bowl Coach is Dale Foster. Wheelersburg’s Coach Mullins commented that, “Participation in Quiz Bowl is an excellent learning experience, giving students opportunities to apply and learn skills and challenge themselves to learn about new topics. Students work hard and become very competitive during their practices but also have fun and laugh a lot! I am extremely proud of this year’s team and the hard work and dedication that they put into preparing for competition.”

The event is organized each year by the Gifted Services Department of the South Central Ohio ESC.

In addition to the Middle School Quiz Bowl, the ESC also hosts an annual Junior High Quiz Bowl, and multiple High School Quiz Bowl matches throughout the year. The next competition will be the Junior High Quiz Bowl Tournament, on Nov. 1.

“Participating in quiz bowl reinforces knowledge and quick recall, inspires learning about new things, and encourages socialization. It also fosters cooperation and teamwork as students confer with each other throughout the competition. I’m always impressed with how well prepared the students are and how well they work together as a team.” Price said.

Names for photo:

Wheelersburg (Champions)

Left to Right: Alina Wang, Finn Eaton, Sadie Wills, Samuel Robinson, Betsy Howe, Aiden Porter, Maggie Clark, Emmett Salyers, and Coach Heather Mullins.