New Kent Junior BETA clubs garner wins at state level

Junior BETA Club members of New Kent Elementary School and New Kent Middle School gather to celebrate success during state competition in Hampton.

Junior BETA clubs from New Kent Elementary School and New Kent Middle School emerged as state winners at the Junior BETA convention in Hampton this past weekend. The winners will be heading to Oklahoma City in June for national competition.

New Kent Elementary School garnered four first place victories from Erin Finnegan (painting), Landon Evans (science), Tobey Davis (social studies- fourth grade), and Rylan Horne (social studies- fifth grade). Other top three finishers were Camden Nogueras (second place- fifth grade math), Noah Barnett (third place- fourth grade math), and Chandler Ashley (third place- language arts).

Other NKES students heading to the national convention are Rylan Horne, Peyton Carroll, Collin Smolnik, and Camden Nogueras (Lead Outside the Box) and the group of Mia Forbes, Max Burmeister, Dwight Voelker, Noah Barnett, and Liam Young (Rapid Response).
New Kent Middle School earned five gold medals at the state convention.

Individual first place winners for the middle school were Sydney Nixon (speech) and Chase Melton (woodworking). Three groups earned first place honors in the areas of robotics (Aidan Sweeney, Katie Williams, Sean Finnegan), 3-D design (Haley Johnston, Chloe Phillips, Lily Ohlschlager), and service learning (Abby Simmons, Abby Powers, Emily Burke). Other top three finishers were Riley Whelan (second place- eighth grade math), Jillian Wilson (second place- sixth grade science), the team of Brooke Swarringim, Antony Zheng, Emma McCocy, and Olivia Carey (third place- living literature), and the quartet of Carter Hillis, Jackson Pierce, Aden Alexander, and Charlie McClintock (third place- technology).

Others heading to the national convention after qualifying in the early period in November are the team of Emily Burke, Abby Powers, and Jackson Pierce (Lead Outside the Box) and the group of Braidyn Bailey, Antony Zheng, Abby Simmons, Erica LaRochelle, Bella Seoane, Maggie Duncan, Hailee Roberts, and Serra Swartout.