On Saturday, April 25, nine elementary students and three middle school students from the Lexington City Schools competed in the 2026 Roanoke City Championships.
Waddell Elementary School was represented at the tournament by the following students: Aiden Adkins, Grayson Olds, Jack Hielpern, Caleb Brockbank, Theo Buenafe, William Loughhead, Henry Rahl, Arham Hasan, and Owen Smith.
Aiden Adkins and Theo Buenafe each earned 3 points out of 4 (three wins out of four games), finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Caleb Brockbank and Grayson Olds each earned 2.5 points out of 4 (two wins and one draw), finishing in eighth and 11th place, respectively. As Waddell’s top four finishers, they were able to earn enough points to give the school a first-place team finish against some strong competition from Roanoke area schools.
Representing Lylburn Downing Middle School were Caleb Rodocker, Theo Rahl, and Ahmad Hasan, all three of whom won two out of four games. Based on the tiebreak rules, Theo Rahl finished in ninth place, Caleb Rodocker finished in 7th place, and Ahman Hasan finished in 6th place. The team competition adds the scores of a school’s top four players. Even though LDMS was shorthanded, with only three players to contribute to its team score, it still finished in second place, a testament to the solid abilities of the students, a school spokesman said.
LDMS students who competed in the tournament included (from left to right) Ahmad Hasan and Theo Rahl. Missing from the photograph is Caleb Rodocker.
