Firelands Challenge down to the wire

NORWALK — Edison Schools finished in first place overall in the Firelands Challenge championship's final match on Wednesday. But officials with North Point Educational Service Center, the entity that runs the scholastic competition for high schoolers, were clear that a champion cannot be officially confirmed yet. Norwalk Schools hosted the final match of this year's three-match Firelands Challenge championship with the Truckers taking the third match hosted at Norwalk High School over the teams representing Edison High School and Port Clinton High School. But tied for the highest cumulative score over the three matches and succeeding in a tiebreaker round, Edison was named a contingent champion, which will hold firm unless any team files an appeal over a question and the score changes. Due to the tie between Edison and Norwalk, the result could theoretically change. What happened? At the end of the third championship contest, Edison and Norwalk remained tied with 136 points while Port Clinton ended with 113. The tie triggered a series of tiebreaker questions between the Edison and Norwalk teams. If the 136-136 tie holds up, and due to its success in answering the tiebreaker question, Edison's team would be crowned champion for the 14th consecutive year. Not over yet Norwalk put up a strong fight against its opponents, Edison and Port Clinton, in front of its home crowd. The Truckers were announced the winners of the final match, scoring 48 points. Port Clinton followed with 41 and Edison scored 35. After scores were added from the previous two matches, Port Clinton scored 113 and Edison and Norwalk were sent to a tie-breaker with 136. After incorrect answers from both teams in the first three tiebreaker questions, Edison correctly guessed a fourth tiebreaker question about Roman mythology. The tiebreaker was used as a contingency in the event that no appeals process occurs or if an appeal is requested but not granted. "We have never had to use a tiebreaker to determine a winner," said, William Muthig, Firelands Challenge coordinator. "This is just further evidence about the competitiveness of this season." Edison and Norwalk have both exercised this ability previously in the competition and signalled their intent to file at least one appeal each. Teams have until 5 p.m. Thursday to submit their appeals that will then be reviewed by an appeal board. Results will be announced by North Point Educational Service Center once the appeal process is complete. "The Norwalk team did great throughout the season," Norwalk's adviser Angela Farmer said. "They had some of the highest scoring matches and were very consistent. I am proud of them and the time and effort they have put into preparing for the season. I would love a win of course and feel confident in the appeal process." Knowing the appeal process could shake up the standings, teams said they are hesitant to celebrate. "Everything is still up in the air," senior Ilah Reynolds, one of Edison's captains, said. "I'm kind of trying to enjoy the somewhat of a victory, but there's still a lot of work cut out for us. We're not going to ease up."