Bulldogs roll to second straight title

ASHLAND – The Talent Middle School scavenger hunt team scored 262 points to beat six other schools and claim victory in the SOU Youth Programs Scavenger Hunt for the second year in a row, clinching the repeat win during the adjudication Tuesday at the Southern Oregon University campus.

About 30 TMS students conducted research for the competition and 16 took part in the adjudication, during which each team evaluates the answers and citations submitted by other teams. Logos Public Charter School of Medford placed second with 246 points and Ashland Middle School tied The Valley school for third place with 232 points. 

Bulldogs coach Sandra Tringolo said the competition came down to the wire.

“It was an edge-of-your-seat day as answers were revealed and students had the opportunity to defend their work,” said Tringolo, who also coached TMS to last year’s victory. “They were so excited and proud to win again, and it was an exciting moment, as we really didn’t know at all where we stood until winners were announced.”

In its 24th year, SOU’s middle school scavenger hunt has five primary goals: to increase knowledge of how to access and critically analyze sources of information; to encourage teamwork in an academic arena, and reward intellectual curiosity; to offer experience in constructing persuasive arguments with supporting evidence; to emphasize the importance of organization, documentation and precision; to promote civil discourse and respectful argumentation skills.

Teams earn points by answering questions posed by the hunt director and can earn bonus points by participating in “bring-in” challenges, which tasks students with difficult side projects such as making informative videos.