Lansdowne and Ashland Win 2024 Superintendent’s Cup

Teams from Lansdowne Elementary and Ashland Elementary claimed the 2024 Superintendent’s Cup titles in the districtwide Academic Challenge championships. Their participating students will receive college scholarships from Midway University and Morehead State University, respectively.  

Primary Division (grades 2-3)

Winner: Lansdowne -- Nellie Haubenreich, Isaiah Llemit, Sara Ouberni, Topher Pattisson, and Maliki Sudderth

Runner-up: Sandersville – Hayden Cheadle, Jaxon Cheadle, Rihan Desai, Ylan Ebondo, Harrison Flannery, and Gia Huber

Third place: Russell Cave -- Ezekiel Luis, Karim Ordonez Juarez, Riley Reichow, Samantha Sales, and Za’Nya Smart-Young

Intermediate Division (grades 4-5)

Winner: Ashland -- Elias Blades, Ella Rose Hubert, Cecilia Kaye, Hank Piercey, Onix Spires, and Oliver Stitzer

Runner-up: Squires – Layla Aghil, Nolan Boyd, Maverick Habermehl, Mateo Alvarado Renteria, Carly Wagner, and Jackson Wells

Third place: Arlington -- Anthony Brown, Astrid Flores, Audrick Goodine, Said Ruiz Trujillo, Evan Vasquez, and Steven Williams

In addition, six students earned scholarships from Bluegrass Community & Technical College through a separate writing competition. Congratulations to Wilson Angel of Brenda Cowan, Biyons Bhandari of Sandersville, Adamari Escalante of Russell Cave, Parker Mayfield of Sandersville, Austin McComas of Mary Todd, and Ethan Wilson of Squires.

“It’s never too early to start preparing for college,” said Annissa Franklin, vice president of the Urban League of Lexington/Fayette County, who helped present the awards March 27 at the district’s John D. Price Administration Building. She likened the annual competition to the NCAA’s March Madness, saying it’s great to celebrate academics, too. “Better than any trophy is a higher education,” Franklin said. “We want to inspire our kids to continue to learn.” 

Academic Challenge is an Urban League initiative in partnership with Fayette County Public Schools and Kentucky colleges as award sponsors. Interested students from our Title I elementary schools are eligible to participate. In the quiz bowl format, a moderator asks about 20 questions from various subject areas including math, social studies, science, language arts, and arts and humanities. The winning teams from each age division square off in the Superintendent’s Cup finals after advancing from three regional contests.

For specific questions, please contact your school’s Academic Challenge coordinator. For general information, email Carolyn Ford in the district’s Department of Family & Community Engagement.