Local history bowl team wins 3rd consecutive state championship

MARSHALL COUNTY, W.Va. (WTRF) — A group of students at one local middle school are in the spotlight after winning their 3rd straight State Championship.

Creating a dynasty isn’t easy but the Sherrard Middle School History Bowl team is on their way to becoming one.

For the third year in a row, one of The Sherrard Middle School History Bowl Teams are State Champions after defeating Mountain View Middle School in Charleston last week.

One of the members of the team, Chloe Pickett, says making it to the States was the first step but they weren’t sure what competition they would run into next.

”It was really exciting when we made it to states because we’ve had competitions all year. We’ve studied extremely hard and in the finals round we actually lost the first game, but since it was double elimination, we were given a second chance and we were able to pull it together and eventually win the championship.”

Chloe Pickett – 8th Grader, Sherrard Middle School History Bowl Team

The students at Sherrard are divided into two teams each season and work together throughout the year to challenge one another. Team member Emily Gatts says even with all the preparation nothing could have prepared them for this year’s championship round.

”We didn’t really have that here at practice, so getting in there, it was very nerve racking. But then after the first couple of rounds we got into the hang of it. And then the finals round, it was very stressful because we didn’t know if we were going to win or not. Then once we pulled through is amazing.”

Emily Gatts – 8th Grader, Sherrard Middle School History Bowl Team

The teams began studying for this season last spring and have worked tirelessly to get back to the top.

”A lot of studying went into it a couple of times a day, like during homeroom, lunch, free time during class, after school, on weekends. It was a lot of studying, but it all paid off in the end.”

Chloe Pickett – 8th Grader, Sherrard Middle School History Bowl Team

Emily Gatts says although they can only be on the team during their 8th-grade year, she is excited for the teams that are still to come.

”Knowing that there are going to be more teams in the future years and more competition and more competitors, we know that we have to work harder and then we actually get to mentor the kids who are younger than us so that they learn how to compete just like how we did.”

Emily Gatts – 8th Grader, Sherrard Middle School History Bowl Team

The West Virginia History Bowl started in 2010 with 16 teams throughout the state. Now, participation has increased to more than 500 students from 8 different regions in the Mountain State.

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