Edison Elementary School qualified four teams for the state finals

Edison Chess Warriors prevail
March 06, 2013 12:00 am  •  By Times Staff

HAMMOND | Edison Elementary School qualified four teams for the state finals in the 3rd Grade and Under section at the Indiana State Team Regional Chess tournament held Feb. 23 at Morton High School.

Teams from this region as well as four other regional sites gathered in Hammond to determine the qualifying teams that will meet in Terre Haute on March 23.

Edison’s first team, led by captain Alec Hunter, Nathan Bond, Xander Cervantes and Lilia Wolf, won the third-place team trophy.

Edison also qualified two teams in the Sixth Grade and Under section. Edison’s top team in that section had an exciting finish, sitting in fourth place at the beginning of the final round and matched up against the first-place team. The second- and third-place teams were pitted against each other that final round and ended in a tied match, or draw.

Edison defeated its final opponent to seal a first-place finish and trophy. Board 4 player Camille Spitler finished undefeated with five wins.

This is the second year in a row that Edison has taken first in this section at the same tournament. The Edison teams are coached by Jeff and Dee Spitler.

Earlier in the season, chess players from throughout the country gathered in Oakbrook, Ill. for the Susan Polgar Boys and Girls World Open chess tournament.

Edison had students vying for individual and team trophies in two sections. In the Girls Grade 4 and 5 section, Rebecca Manning, Hailey Landeros, Chyanne McConathy, Veronica Maya, Xzaliya Cervantes, Camille Spitler and Analisa Sada took first as a team. Additionally, Sada won the seventh-place individual trophy and Spitler won the 10th-place trophy.

The Boys Grades 4 and 5 team of Xavier Cervantes, Josue Moreno, Ryan Manning and Nathan Bond also claimed the first-place team trophy for Edison.

Source: http://www.nwitimes.com