May River High takes crown in Academic WorldQuest debut

May River High’s first year as a participant in Beaufort County’s annual Academic WorldQuest competition turned out to be a winning one, with its Gray team earning top honors and a trip to Washington for the national competition.

Bluffton High claimed second and third places among the 10 teams entered in Saturday’s sixth annual competition at Hilton Head Island High. Beaufort High had produced the previous three winners.

Questions focused on national security issues, as voted on by leaders of world affairs councils across the country. Multiple-choice questions were projected on a screen, and the 10 teams used electronic clickers to answer.

May River’s Gray team consisted of Daniela Hernandez, Jurnee Jones, Darwin Pitts and Cheyanne Ward, plus alternate Michela Stephaens. The quintet was coached by Michael Campbell.

Bluffton’s second-place Black team featured Jacob Bierman, Danielle Cilli, Adelynne Helms and Andy Mendez. Bluffton’s Gray team, composed of Salvatore Liberatore, Decker Paulmeier, Maile Paulmeier and William Schmidt, placed third. Both teams were coached by Pam Wolske.

“With the epochal changes taking place in geopolitical networks and relationships, we look forward to the May River team enjoying a very informative trip,” said Carlton Dallas, who serves as project director for WorldQuest in Beaufort County.

“These students are impressive future leaders, and they’ll get to experience the institutions of our government that have created our amazing American society.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 6:59 PM with the headline "May River High takes crown in Academic WorldQuest debut."