Southwestern Randolph High School’s first Battle of the Books team was elated to win the district competition on March 12. The team’s 9 members have been reading books for almost a year in order to prepare.
Most members participated in MBOB at Southwestern Randolph Middle School with Christy Embree. Adrian Aguirre Panfilo remembers MBOB fondly and wanted to continue BOB in high school because he said, “It gave me a sense of purpose and greatly impacted how I viewed school more positively and gave me a better work ethic.”
The team’s only senior, Skylee Smith, remembers winning the district’s competition in 2020 when she was in 8th grade, only to have the regional competition canceled when schools closed because of the pandemic. She says, “Going to regionals with HBOB was a chance to do something that I had really wanted to do for a long time ago and it’s given me closure to my time in Battle of the Books. It’s been awesome and the group has been amazing.”
Jasmin Vargas had never competed in Battle of the Books before, but she read all 16 books on the list. She decided to join in high school after discovering a love of reading her sophomore year. “It helped me improve my English grade, and distracted me while recovering from an injury last summer,” she said.
The team will travel to the Forsyth County Public Library’s Central Branch on Monday, March 24 to compete in the Region 5 High School Battle of the Books competition.
Members:
Adrian Aguirre Panfilo
Alex Aguirre Panfilo
Jasper Gunter
Ryan Hall
Nolan McNeill
Lexi Owen
Skylee Smith
Jasmin Vargas
Cameron Weaver