PHOTO BY MALISSA MCDONALD
After an intense literary competition, two Umatilla County teams came out of top of the Battle of the Books Region 6 Match.
Nine middle school teams and 13 elementary teams from across Eastern Oregon traveled to La Grande on Saturday to compete in the state-qualifying match at Eastern Oregon University. Monday morning, Region 6 Manager Glenn Stelson released the winners: Clara Brownell Middle School in Umatilla and West Park Elementary in Hermiston.
The “Robo Readers” from Clara Brownell – Brandon Bensen, Zaquary Funderburk, Anthony Ibarra and Garrett McClannahan – and “The Handsome Pretty Penguins” from West Park – Katherine Haight, Hunter McDonald, Emma Williamson and Josie Wright – can now compete at the Oregon Battle of the Books State Tournament, April 12 at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.
Both cities are familiar with the winner’s chair. A team from Clara Brownell also took the middle school Battle of the Books regional title in 2011, and this is the third consecutive year a Hermiston team has won the elementary regional competition. Desert View Elementary won in 2012, and Rocky Heights Elementary won in 2013.
Monday, Hermiston librarian Kristi Smalley said all elementary teams started with “pool play,” where all 13 elementary teams played two matches to determine which teams would be seeded for the tournament bracket. West Park entered bracketed play seeded first with 90 points. Three other Hermiston teams – Sunset Elementary, Desert View and Rocky Heights – almost made it into the tournament play while Highland Hills Elementary team finished just two points away from qualifying, according to Smalley.
In the tournament play, the Hermiston teams met up with another highly competitive team: “The Eliminators,” the school champions from Umatilla’s McNary Heights Elementary. Although elementary teams came from as far as Arlington and Adrian, the final battle came down to McNary Heights vs. West Park.
With double the number of questions, the final brought out the competitive spirit in both the Eliminators and the Handsome Pretty Penguins. McNary Heights started out strong, but, after several missed questions, West Park took the lead in the “In Which Book” questions. Smalley said the lead went back and forth on the final set of content-related questions. At the end of the match, West Park Elementary eliminated the Eliminators with a score of 67 to 53.
“It is important to note that all of the students displayed excellent sportsmanship and even though a few tears were shed when a team lost a battle, it was a positive learning experience for all,” Smalley said.
While the elementary and middle school teams prepare for state, the team from Umatilla High School will gear up for its regional competition this Saturday.
