If you’re looking for someone well-versed in African American history, you don’t have to look any further than the students at Louisa County Public Schools!
Louisa County Public Schools hosted its annual Black History Month Trivia Contest on Thursday, February 27th at Louisa County Middle School. This year’s contest marked the seventh installment of the yearly tradition. Fifteen students from the division’s four elementary schools competed in the contest, with Moss-Nuckols Elementary School fifth-grader Lyric Owens taking home the championship trophy!
Owens’ victory came after an impressive – and highly competitive – performance by all 15 of the students. In total, they competed for nearly an hour and during that time, they correctly answered 86 questions!
The LCPS Black History Month Trivia Contest debuted in 2019 thanks to the initiative and sponsorship of Kerry Wynn, a 2009 graduate of Louisa County High School and former NFL defensive lineman. The contest is an extension of his “Why Not Me? Foundation,” which provides cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50 each year for the school division’s top three finalists.
“This contest means a lot to me because it’s important for us to continuously highlight African American history in schools,” Wynn said. “To see these students display how much they’ve been taught in school and to see how much research they’ve done to gain that knowledge, it’s inspiring. I’m really proud of the work Louisa County Public Schools is doing to bring out the best in our students.”
The process of whittling the division competition down to the 15 finalists began in early February when all fifth-graders at LCPS were given a study guide and the option to take a 25-question online quiz. The top four scorers from each school were invited to the finale on Thursday.
For the first 75 questions of Thursday’s competition, students fielded multiple-choice questions, having to choose the correct answer out of three options. In the second phase of the competition, students received questions in the format of true/false and either/or. The contest featured questions concerning a variety of topics, such as business, historical figures, entertainment, sports, education, military, science, and more! To win, Owens correctly fielded questions for 14 consecutive rounds.
“Lyric’s performance was outstanding,” LCPS Superintendent Doug Straley said at the event’s conclusion. “You can tell that she studied hard and worked to earn the trophy! All of our students did a great job and I’m really proud of them.”
Straley also praised Wynn for his initiative and work to help organize the contest.
“We talk about citizenship a lot here at Louisa County Public Schools, and Kerry embodies that quality,” Straley said. “He’s a fantastic role model for our students and he is someone I know our entire community takes a lot of pride in. He continues to donate his time and effort to make this world a better place, and we’re really thankful to have him as a member of our team.”
Through her victory, Owens became the second champion to hail from Moss-Nuckols Elementary School, following in the footsteps of 2023 champion Driggs Johnson. Johnson, along with the 2022 champion, Katie Harper, and 2024 champion Paloma Ortiz, were all in attendance for Thursday’s contest.
As a result of Owens’ victory, Moss-Nuckols Elementary School will lay claim to the event’s official championship trophy for the next year, as the trophy rotates from school to school based on that year’s champion.
For this year’s competition, LCPS Director of Elementary Education Heather Spaid served as the official announcer. Complete photos from the competition can be found at the school division’s website, which is lcps.k12.va.us.
1st Place - Lyric Owens (Moss-Nuckols Elementary School)
2nd Place - Brianne Sullivan (Jouett Elementary School)
3rd Place - Saryn Verbos (Jouett Elementary School)
Other competitors:
Devin Sexton (TJES)
Aamir Turay (TES)
Coltin Clough (JES)
Benjamin Trimm (TES)
Trenton Crawford (MNES)
Paislee Tipton (TJES)
Amir Sims (TES)
Melanie Powell (JES)
Jonah Miller (MNES)
Georgeanna Floyd (TJES)
Marshall Mawyer (TES)
Maddox Elswick (TJES)
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