KINSTON — On Wednesday morning, Mary Dallas loaded her middle-school Battle of the Books team from Elizabethtown Christian Academy into her car, and they headed to Arendell Parrott Academy in Kinston for the Region II competition.

In order to prepare for the competition, students had to read 27 young adult books and become experts on each one.

It was a grueling day of four hours of competition in which students were asked “In which book” questions. The students had 20 seconds to confer and then respond with the title and author. The ECA team battled through 10 rounds of competition before the judges tallied the final scores — and ECA finished in the runner-up position.

Dallas has coached BoB teams for many years, and according to her, “I’ve never had a more dedicated team. They represented ECA exceptionally well.”

This is ECA’s first year having a Battle of the Books team, which made their second-place finish even more special. They were competing against five other well-known and established private schools, most with teams of six or more students.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our team of readers and their coach,” stated Mrs. Bridgers, head of the school.

ECA is planning to add an elementary Battle of the Books team to its growing list of clubs and activities for the 2017-18 school year.

“It is truly an exciting time to be part of a school that is opening doors and opportunities for students to display their talents and potential,” Bridgers added. “We are currently in our open-enrollment period, and we would love for parents who are looking for a safe, academic, Christian atmosphere to stop by and take a look at what we have to offer.”

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