St. Bernard Parish Public School System Announces 2026 Academic Games National Team

St. Bernard Parish Public School System Announces 2026 Academic Games National Team

Students from schools across the district recently competed in the last tournament of the year for Academic Games. In addition to the thrill of the competition, many of these players were also vying to qualify for one of the district’s four national teams, representing the elementary, middle, junior, and senior divisions. These outstanding players will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina with national tournament administrator Alisha Capstick and coaches at the end of April to compete against teams from across the country.

This most recent event is the culmination of a five-month season sanctioned by the Academic Games League of America. Throughout the year, players compete in a variety of games, including Propaganda, Equations, Presidents, LinguiSHTIKs, and On-Sets. Scores from each game are tallied and at the end of the season, the players receiving the highest cumulative scores are named as the sweepstakes winners, automatically qualifying for the national tournament.

Representing St. Bernard at this year's national tournament are the following players.

Elementary Division National Team with Coach Christina Crego

• Luke Gagnard
• Grayson Caballero
• Dominick Shreve
• Miriam Dali
• Gracie Acosta

Middle Division National Team with Coach Lori Gilchrist

• Jack McMullin
• Curtis Kass
• Micah Bastoe
• Jonah Capstick
• Tyler Bauer

Junior Division National Team with Coaches Abbie Schilling, Jaida Alphonso, and Jonathan Palazzolo

• Elbin Chavez
• Jade Jamhour
• Kenneth Higginbotham
• Carter Tran
• Genesis Garcia

Senior Division National Team with Coaches Abbie Schilling, Jaida Alphonso, and Jonathan Palazzolo 

• Christian Miller
• Jenna Jamhour
• Connor Dewey
• Alvin Vu
• Kevin Roussell

In preparation for ongoing academic success, the district also hosts a Learners Division for novice players who compete throughout the year. The following students won sweeps in the Learners’ Division:

• Linchi Quach
• Roddrick Gaines
• Kaiser Eljaouhari
• Ethan Mendel
• Jaxon Kempele

Mary Lumetta, Deputy Superintendent for the district and one of the organizers of the games, said this year's season was successful due to the hard work and dedication of the school sponsors as well as the district staff.

"We are so proud of the teamwork that enabled us to provide this experience at the Maumus Center for so many of our students," Lumetta said. "It's been a rewarding, competitive season, and we are so proud of all of our coaches and players."

Lumetta was also quick to credit the long-time sponsor for Academic Games, Chalmette Refining / PBF. "We are so thankful for the continued support of Chalmette Refining who make the local and national competition possible. Their financial support gives our students the opportunity to compete against some of the brightest students in the nation. We know our teams will make them and our community proud at nationals."