'Battle of the Minds' No Match for Middle Schoolers

In the heat of the professional football playoffs, as teams vie for supremacy with strength and athleticism, a different kind of competition has unfolded here in Hackettstown.

Students from the Hackettstown Middle School took on 11 other teams in the annual Battle of the Minds competition, looking for redemption after a stretch of multiple years not making the finals, according to the school district.

The competition, hosted by Great Meadows Middle School on Jan. 8 saw 12 total teams from Warren County go head-to-head in a Jeopardy! style format to match wits.

Coached by Middle School faculty members Kara Varina and Kelly Reed, the fifth grade team came out of the preliminary round with the highest point total. The team then squared off against Allamuchy in a five-tiebreaker final round to emerge with a second place standing.

At the next level, Hackettstown’s sixth grade team took it one more step, beating Washington Borough in the finals to be crowned champions.

“The faculty and students of the Middle School are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our teams and all who participated in the competitions this year,” said Reed in a statement.

The school’s eighth grade team came in second place at an earlier competition this school year.