The Red Dragons soared this week as Fulton took top awards in the county-wide Battle of the Books.

The Battle of the Books – an annual reading challenge that quizzes students in a friendly competition of book-related questions – is organized by school librarians across Oswego County. Each student participant must read 8 pre-selected books and square off against other teams within their grade levels, schools and district in a tournament of challenging trivia about their reading. Districts then compete against each other in a county-wide tournament.

That tournament was hosted this year at Phoenix’s JCB High School on Monday, April 7. Students went head-to-head in five brackets, including first and second grade, third and fourth grade, fifth and sixth grade, seventh and eighth grade and high school. For the past several years, inter-district competitions have occurred virtually. This year marked a return to the program’s roots and an in-person event, which most expressed enthusiasm for.

At the end of the evening, Fulton teams won big. In the first and second grade bracket, the “Speedy Readers” team from Fulton’s Volney Elementary faced down Pulaski in a four-question tie breaker that ultimately earned them the top slot. Team participants included Kasen Klink, Lilia Hartranft and Henry Ridgeway.

“Leaders of the Readers” – Fulton’s third and fourth grade team, also earned first place, soundly dominating their competition. Members included Zoey French, Rhea Hartranft and Abigail Olcott.

 At the middle school level, Fulton Junior High’s “Fantastic Four” tied with Sandy Creek, prompting the two schools into a sudden death round that earned Fulton yet another first-place win. The team was composed of Ava Thurlow, Leah Parks, Kaleb Rupert and Vaughn Strong.

In the High School competition, Fulton sophomores Andrew Becker and Adam Wood teamed up with Pulaski senior Emily Hipple to form a powerhouse trio that earned a second-place finish.

 “Even choosing to read eight books on top of their normal academic and extracurricular activities shows their dedication to reading and literacy,” noted Teresa Burgdorf, librarian at FJHS and team coach to the middle school participant. “It's truly a blessing as a school librarian to work with kids who still love books.”

Volney librarian Desiree Schepp agreed. “Our school district demonstrated exceptional dedication and performance in the Battle of the Books competition across all levels,” she said. “This is not an easy task. Our students diligently read and prepared, showcasing a remarkable drive to succeed. The high level of family involvement further underscored the collective effort and support that contributed to our district's strong showing. I am incredibly proud of the students' hard work and the collaborative spirit that defined their participation.”