Congratulations to the Whitefield Middle School and K-3 chess teams which both brought home the Cobb County championship at the Metro-Atlanta K-8 state qualifier chess tournament held at the Cobb Galleria the weekend of February 20-21. The event is the largest scholastic tournament for Georgia players each year, drawing over 1,000 participants.
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The Middle School team competed in a field of 23 teams and took seventh place overall in the tournament with 16 points. Zachary Justice (8th) led the WolfPack team with four wins in the five-round tournament, followed by Caleb Corliss (8th) and Zoe Justice (5th), each with three and a half points. Jonathan Rhudy (5th) made a strong return to chess with three wins on the day. Also contributing to the team were seventh graders Everett Sinclair and Devin Wade and fifth-grader Rylie Keeble. The Whitefield Middle School team was named Cobb County Champion as the top finishing team in Cobb County.
The K-3 team faced a much larger field, comprised of 48 teams
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from around the metro Atlanta area. With only four rounds of competition in their section, Whitefield’s K-3 team managed to score 18 points out of a possible 20 to take home the first place trophy and be awarded the Cobb County Championship. Third graders Drew Justice, Efetobo Aror, and Christian Wiggins all returned perfect scores while classmates Walker Paxton and Archer McBride contributed three points each to the team score. Rounding out the K-3 team were Brayden Parham (3rd), Ryan Walker (3rd), Graham Hood (2nd), and Kaitlyn Rhudy (2nd).
Both Whitefield teams have qualified to represent the school in the K-8 state championship which will be held March 21. Whitefield hopes to bring home their first state chess championship.
The Middle School team competed in a field of 23 teams and took seventh place overall in the tournament with 16 points. Zachary Justice (8th) led the WolfPack team with four wins in the five-round tournament, followed by Caleb Corliss (8th) and Zoe Justice (5th), each with three and a half points. Jonathan Rhudy (5th) made a strong return to chess with three wins on the day. Also contributing to the team were seventh graders Everett Sinclair and Devin Wade and fifth-grader Rylie Keeble. The Whitefield Middle School team was named Cobb County Champion as the top finishing team in Cobb County.
The K-3 team faced a much larger field, comprised of 48 teams
from around the metro Atlanta area. With only four rounds of competition in their section, Whitefield’s K-3 team managed to score 18 points out of a possible 20 to take home the first place trophy and be awarded the Cobb County Championship. Third graders Drew Justice, Efetobo Aror, and Christian Wiggins all returned perfect scores while classmates Walker Paxton and Archer McBride contributed three points each to the team score. Rounding out the K-3 team were Brayden Parham (3rd), Ryan Walker (3rd), Graham Hood (2nd), and Kaitlyn Rhudy (2nd).
Both Whitefield teams have qualified to represent the school in the K-8 state championship which will be held March 21. Whitefield hopes to bring home their first state chess championship.