Lexington Senior High School competed in its first state championship of the school year on Saturday, December 3, but it wasn't in basketball, wrestling, or even football. In fact, the contest was an academic competition, and the team was made up of some of the brightest students in Lexington.
The competition is called "Twelve" and hosted by the North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities, of which LSHS is a member school. The NCASA sponsors a number of academic competitions for its member schools all across the state. Twelve students make up each team and they are presented with rounds of twelve different topics with twelve questions per category. At the end of the day, the Lexington team amassed 36 points, narrowly behind the next two highest schools, finishing in eight place overall.
Lexington's eighth-place finish gives it 20 points in the NCASA's Scholastic Cup competition, which is billed as the ranking of the "best schools in the state." Competing against Lexington were some of the most reputed schools in North Carolina, including Myers Park from Charlotte, which regularly competes in academic contests even on a national level. Myers Park finished in 3rd place, while Ardrey Kell, also of Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools was the champion. Both schools have enrollments of over 2,000 students. Finishing second was Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy of Rutherford County.
The Lexington Twelve Team is coached by English teacher Dawn Poole. Team members are Furwah Hassan, Daniel Owens, Marcus Johnson, Sethea Seang, Alex Leng, Mikayla Cross, Camille Miller, Josey Parker, Arefa Bacchus, Suzannah Brown, Evan McIntosh, and Crystal Nem. The team was selected from a larger pool of applicants and teacher nominations from grades 9-12. The team proceeded to the state championship after a preliminary competition held in October and final team selections were based on regular team study and practice sessions held by Ms. Poole.
The two-hour competition was a grueling experience for its participants, and the team's performance holds promise for future contests. Student comments included, "It does make you feel bad when you don't know an answer, but it also makes you feel really good about how much you do know and how much you have learned." Another said, "This makes me want to go back and tell all my teachers how thankful I am that they worked so hard to teach me all of this." Students kept a positive outlook: "We'll win next year."
"Lexington High School students competed admirably in the Twelve State Final held this past weekend. Their outstanding performance in US History, Algebra / Geometry, and Life Sciences led them to an eighth place finish. These scholars represented Lexington High School well and has earned their current eighth place standing in the NCASA Scholastic Cup standings," said NCASA Executive Director Leon Pfeiffer.
LSHS Scholastic Director Scott Plaster said that this is just the first of a string of related competitions that the school will compete in this year. "Our students need to know something beyond the walls of our own school. Challenging them to compete against the brightest minds in the state should give them that hope. There's no reason why Lexington cannot become as well known for academics as it is for athletics." The school now has an entire coaching staff for a slew of academic contests in history, math, science, writing, glee club, quiz bowl, speech, and even chess. Last year the school competed in only one of those competitions, but this year the program expands to at least a half a dozen academic contests.
The NCASA was formed last year to promote academic competition across the state. Its membership nearly doubled from last year; 76 schools this year are eligible to compete, including a few entire school systems. Other schools include small charter and magnet schools that have an intensive academic focus. Upcoming events include weekly Quiz Bowl conference play, a statewide Glee Club competition, and the Quill writing contest. More information about the NCASA, including contest schedules and descriptions, member schools, and practice materials, can be found on the organization's website at http://ncscholastic.org.
