TMP-Marian

Both the Thomas More Prep-Marian high school and junior high school teams marked “first ever” accomplishments at the Kansas Scholastic Chess Association (KSCA) state tournament held this month at Wichita’s North High School.

For the first time ever, TMP-Marian has achieved state champion status, claiming the first place plaque in the state’s 4A division. Juniors Patrick Kepka (4.5 points) and Justyce Briney (4.0 points) combined with seniors Russell Krug (4.0) and Jacob Werth (4.0) for a total team score of 16.5 of a possible 24 points.  Finishing second and third were Chanute and Columbus.

For the first time ever, the TMP-Marian chess team ranked in the top six schools of all sizes at the state tournament, finishing third behind Erie (17.5 points) and Blue Valley Northwest (17.0 points). Rounding out the top six were Lawrence High School (16.0 points) Hillsboro (16.0 points), and Valley Center (15.5 points).

For the first time ever, the TMP-Marian junior high brought home a state tournament trophy, finishing second in the K-8 section with 17.0 points. A pair of Lawrence junior high schools (Southwest and West) claimed first and third with 17.5 and 17.0 points respectively. The tie for second place was broken by the strength of opponents of the two teams. Seventh grader Sheena Zeng led the team with five points. Eighth graders Nicholas Zimmerman and classmates Sheldon Weber and Paul Brull each contributed 4.0 points.  Eighth grader Garrett Cole had four points in reserve; seventh grader Lucas Kraus had three points in reserve.

Finally, for the first time ever, Holy Family Elementary students participated in a state KSCA tournament.  Sixth graders Japheth Briney (4.0 points) and Seth Perrett (3.5 points) competed in the K-8 division and fourth graders Noah Bruggeman (3.5 points), Tate Dinkel (3.0 points), and Evan Lind (3.0 points) competed in the K-5 section. The fourth grade trio placed 13th of 22 teams in their section with their combined score of 9.5.