While there was plenty of hardware spread around the multitude of teams competing, Decatur Classical (of Chicago) managed to win two sections of the January 14 YCFC / CCF free scholastic tournament.
Christopher Gora managed to earn a better tiebreak than Decatur's Avi Kaplan when both posted 4.5/5 scores in the Advanced section. After two previous championships, Avi's second place finish lead the Decatur squad to the top team trophy, posting 12.0 to Fox Valley's 10.0.
Decatur's John Seward (4.0) and Yuvraj Chennareddy (3.5) also contributed to the team total, with John nabbing 5th place honors and Yuvraj earning 7th.
Also earning trophies in the Advanced were Jack Heller (4.0 for 3rd), Vikram Oberai (4.0 for 4th), and Jimmy Nguyen (4.0 for 6th).
Lead by 3.5/5's from Enkhjin Namuunbayar and Brandon Wilken, Decatur Classical also won Novice K-2. Enkhjin's tiebreak gave him the 7th place trophy ahead of Brandon. 3.0's from Siri Chennareddy and Casey Scott rounded out the winning team score.
Decatur actually had the identical score as Skinner North -- both with 13.0 -- but earned the top team trophy with the higher tiebreak. Kinzie was a meager 1/2 point back with 12.5.
Individually, Skinner North's Andy Cao was the lone 5-for-5 entrant in the tournament to claim clear first place among Novice Grade K-2's.
A five-way tie for second place at 4.0/5 included Anshul Shetty, Kevin Shi, Nandini Prakash, Lucas Walsh and Isabella Patel-Garcia with tiebreaks deciding who got which trophy.
Skinner North returned the favor in the Novice Grades 3-4, edging Decatur for the top team award 12.5-12.0. Beaubien was a half-point back with 11.5 in third place.
Lenart edged Newberry 12.5-12.0 in the Novice Grades 5-6, with Skinner North placing third at 11.0.
In the Novice Grades 7-8, Cook posted 11.0 from its top four players, out-pointing Earle STEM at 10.0. Nobel and Oriole Park both posted 9.0's to tie for third place.
The event was hosted by Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep with a vendor display by Think Like A King of Highland Park and balloon artistry and face painting in the main skittles room. Thanks to Pawel and Monika -- members of the World Clown Association -- for making the time between rounds VERY memorable for all the attendees!