South Forsyth Regains Top Spot at PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades After Pandemic Lull

Calloway is quick to give credit for South Forsyth’s tradition of success to two of her colleagues, Stephanie Chanoski, who joined the team as a coach four years ago, and Liz Ruston, now a South Forsyth assistant principal who started the team and “laid the groundwork for what it is today,” Callaway added.

The other top finishers at this year’s Academic Bowl are:

• Second Place: River Trail Middle School, Fulton County School District, coached by Scott Fowler.

• Third Place: North Gwinnett Middle School, Gwinnett County Public Schools, coached by Scott Johnson.

• Fourth Place: Riverwatch Middle School, Forsyth County Schools, coached by Ann Hicks.

• Fifth Place: David T. Howard Middle School, Atlanta Public Schools, coached by Jessica Hughes, Abbi Hurt, and Colin Heydt.

By Dolly Purvis

Before entering the auditorium to pick up the PAGE Academic Bowl for Middle Grades state champions’ trophy, South Forsyth Middle School’s Academic Bowl coach Ashley Calloway wiped a tear from her eye as she described to her team the last time the school won the competition.

The emotional 2023 win came after South Forsyth experienced setbacks from the pandemic, missing the top spot after winning the championship in 2017 and 2019. The team’s response this year to that adversity is one of the reasons this team is special, Calloway said, and she is grateful this group of students have an “enduring memory” to look back on, she continued.

“They are such amazing kids: talented, smart, kind, and funny,” Calloway, who has coached Academic Bowl for 12 years, eight of them at South Forsyth, said. “They worked very hard for this. They try to get knowledge from anywhere they can, and I’m so proud of them. It means a lot to them too.”

• Sixth Place: Richards Middle School, Muscogee County School District, coached by Andrea Bingham, and Troy McGarr.

• Seventh Place: Jefferson Middle School, Jefferson City School District, coached by Lindy Pals.

• Eighth Place: The Westminster Schools, an independent school in Fulton County, coached by Jon Hathorn and Robert Cochran. n