Members of the Pine Ridge Middle School Academic Challenge Team had a special way of reminding themselves to never give up.

Before each competition this season, the team would watch the video replay of former University of South Carolina women’s basketball player Kamilla Cordoso’s game-winning shot – at that time, her first-ever 3-pointer – that lifted the Gamecocks over Tennessee during the 2024 SEC Tournament. Then, at the end of each competition, Pine Ridge members would select the one among them who was clutch in that day’s Academic Challenge match to receive the team’s Kamilla Cordoso Award.

Jana Locklair, a Pine Ridge social studies teacher, said that kind of support was a key to the team’s success.

“The team constantly complimented each other when they answered correctly and gave support when someone was upset about missing a question,” said Locklair, who coached the Lexington Two school team along with assistant coach Carol Jones. 

Pine Ridge’s 12-member Academic Challenge Team competed against seven other area schools, with weekly matches featuring two other teams. Questions were asked on topics including current events, literature, geography, history, math, science, ELA, sports, art, music, and more. During the competition, students have 10 seconds to answer all questions except the math problems, for which they get 30 seconds.

The Pine Ridge team went undefeated in the regular season,  finishing with a 13-0 record and qualifying for a trip to the State Academic Challenge Championship, held March 7 at Lander University. The team finished second in the state.

This year’s team included seventh-graders Ricardo Alvarez Vargas, Cayden Glover, Jairo Moscoso Ortega, Lucas Price, Natalee Singleton, and Tyler Williams; and eighth-graders Keyla Castillo Estrada, Elias Gambino Calixto, Pari Patel, Eli Self-Vasquez, Lucas Shumpert, and Kai Turner.

Locklair said she’s proud of the team’s performance, noting that on the mornings they were able to practice, “they always came into my room motivated to try to improve.”

“What impressed me the most is that during the regular season they never lost confidence, even if we were behind,” Locklair said. “They believed in each other and our ability to win.”

Below: Pine Ridge Middle School Academic Challenge Team members qualified for the state competition at Lander University: