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JCMS and WSK8 compete at Middle School OBOB Regional Tournament

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In mid-March, both the JCMS White Buffalos and the Warm Springs K-8 Academy Eagles competed at the Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) Regional Grades 6-8 Tournament in Bend.

JCMS came in as one of the favorites, having won the Redmond Friendly, a lead up tournament to regionals, in late February. After four matches of pool play, JCMS earned the #2 seed in the Sweet-16 while Warm Springs earned the #16 seed.

In the Sweet-16 JCMS defeated #15 seeded Cascades Academy. While the Eagles were defeated by #1 Cascade Middle School.

In the Elite 8, the Buffalos defeated #7 seeded Skyview Falcons. This was a big milestone because JCMS had reached the Final Four at the regional tournament in back-to-back years, a first for the school and Jefferson County School District 509J.

In the Final Four, a familiar foe awaited the Buffalos, the Huskies of Elton Gregory. The Redmond School District team was seeded #3 after pool play. The two teams had previously met in the championship of the Redmond Friendly. The match between the Huskies and Buffalos was similar to their prior encounter, a very competitive early with JCMS stealing key questions in the content section to ice the victory. 

JCMS would face the #1 seed Mountaineers of Cascade Middle School in the championship round. The Mountaineers and Buffalos met in the Final Four of last year’s tournament and the match was an instant classic with Cascade prevailing late.

Cascade was vying to repeat as champions.  While JCMS was trying to qualify for the state tournament for the first time in school history. The Buffalos and Mountaineers traded steals and at the halfway mark of the match, Cascade held a slim lead. 

In the second half, Cascade began to pull away. The Buffs tried to reel in the Mountaineers but to no avail, the Bend-La Pine school repeated as champions and in doing so will represent Region 7 at the state tournament in April.

It was an impressive year for the White Buffs. They repeated as champions at the Redmond Friendly and reached the final of the regional tournament, both firsts for the school. With key players returning next season, coupled with some additions from the Grades 3-5 Division coming in next year, they will look to make another deep run in 2027.       

The 6-8 Tournament marked the last regional tournament in Central Oregon for the 2025-2026 season.The 9-12 regionals took place in Redmond on February 28 and the 3-5 regional tournament was in Prineville on March 7.