SANFORD, NC - For the third straight year, Lee Early College maintained their grip on the Lee County Schools Secondary District Chess Championships. The Cobras earned 19 of a possible 24 match points on their way to the title.
The Secondary District Chess Championships provide a competitive chess outlet for students in middle and high schools. Currently, there are chess clubs active at SanLee and West Lee Middle Schools as well as Lee County High and Lee Early College.
Lee County High finished in second place, earning 13.5 match points while West Lee finished the day in third at .500 with 12 points in the tournament. For the first year since the tournament’s inception, West Lee outdueled SanLee. Pride players won seven of the eight matches against SanLee and only SanLee’s Braydan Moser managed a draw with West’s Gabriel Maggin in the opening round.
Lee Early College only dropped two matches against their counterparts from Lee County High as Brandon Rodenzo and Andrew Patterson from Lee County High managed to checkmate Sean Martin and Lillian Larsen, respectively. LEC had five players go a perfect 3-0 in tournament play with lead player Mack Moore III joined by Platon Horner, Abbie Soto, Markice Gaskins and Nathan Vildosola all achieving an undefeated tournament.
A pair of seniors were honored with the second annual Kim Ashby Knight’s Honor Award, a recognition given to a respected player and ambassador of the game. The award is dedicated to the memory of former SanLee Middle Chess Coach and club founder, Kim Ashby, who tragically passed during flooding due to Hurricane Helene.
This year’s Knight’s Honor Award recipients were Omar Sanchez Sayas from Lee County High and Mack Moore III from Lee Early College.
Former Lee County High School Chess Coach Stephen Roman highlighted Sanchez’s contributions to the club at Lee County High by saying, “Omar is one of the reasons LCHS restarted its chess club three years ago. He is passionate about Chess, and loves meeting with other club members to play and offer advice.” Sanchez is notably recognized for being courteous and kind, embodying good sportsmanship and serving as a wonderful ambassador for the game.
LEC Chess Coach Shannon Willaert had similar praise for Moore III who also received the Knight’s Honor Award. For the past three years, Moore has been active in attending chess meetings with a positive attitude and a mindset centered on growth. She said, “He enjoys playing chess and enjoys just as much helping others improve their chess abilities. Mack can often be heard offering advice to team members or will play two opponents at once when we have an odd number of players in attendance.” He is described as constantly learning something new about the game and finding opportunities to play.