Local Boys Make Good

Congratulations to the Freeport Pretzel Kings chess team for finishing in fourth place at the IESA 5–8 State Chess Tournament!

The consolidated team, competing in the eighth-grade section, won games on every board in the last round for a spectacular finish in the seven-round tournament.

First-board player Alec Mangan of Freeport Middle School scored 4.0 game points out of 7. Austin Rucker of Carl Sandburg Middle School finished in individual sixth place on second board, also with 4.0/7. On third board, Noah Watson (FMS) won individual fourth place with 5.0/7. Fourth-board player Milo Collier (FMS) scored 4.0/7. Fifth-board players Joe Kozeliski and Garrett McDonald (both FMS) finished in individual sixth and seventh place, each with 5.0/7, and Kurt Rodriguez (CSMS) scored 4.0/7. The team finished Friday in 10th place out of 32 teams in the section, then on Saturday surged ahead of six other teams for its decisive fourth-place finish. It was an exceptional achievement in the team's first year of competition.