The Divine Savior Academy Chess team competed at the Florida State Chess tournament and came away with championships in two divisions. Divine Savior had the largest team (38 players) in the state registered for the competition, which Coach Gil Luna feels was the toughest one yet.
“I knew we had a chance to do well, and I am very proud of them for rising to the level of competition there,” says Luna. “I am also very proud of the level of support the Chess program receives from the school and especially from the parents, many of whom were there to cheer us on the whole weekend.”
The K8 – Under 1000 team came away as State Champions. It was a tough section where they fiercely battled with Rockway Middle School, but in the end DSA prevailed. The team included Juan Cavallin, Lucas Martinez, Grant Canaday, Thomas Poulos, Nicholas Chong, Jean Claude Lelievre, and Ali Dominguez.
The K12 – Under 1100 team were also State Champions. The team included: Roque Cedeno, David Lelievre, James Poulos, Santiago Martinez, Valeria Bermudez, Daniel Martinez, Logan Schultz, and Summer Li.
The K3 – Under 600 team tied for 3rd place but won 4th on tiebreaks. The team included: Evan Bello, Kahla Morales, and Shizuku Minato.
The K5 – Under 700 team won the 3rd place trophy. The team included: Jacobo Pacheco, Daniel Poulos, Nayib Nader, Victoria Largaspada, Sebastian Osorio, Jose Molina, Johnny Chamoun, and Bryan Rodriguez.
The K5 – Championship team won the 3rd place trophy. The team included: Sebastian Herrera, Christian Cozzo, Ryan Hansen, Noah Bello, Abelardo Goncalves, Joshua Canaday, and Lucas Ochoa.
The K12 – Championship team won the 3rd place trophy. The team included: Sebastian Lojano, Sergio Rivera, Valentina Bermudez, and Jesus Bermudez.
Divine Savior also had several individual winners: Juan Cavallin – 3rd place, Roque Cedeno – 4th place, David Lelievre – 5th place, Lucas Martinez – 6th Place, James Poulos – 6th Place, and Evan Bello – 6th Place.
The Divine Savior Chess team now has its sights set on the National Championships. The Middle School Championship takes place in Nashville the second weekend in April, and the High School Championship will be held in Columbus at the end of April.
The Divine Savior Chess program is open to students in Kindergarten – 12th grade. Located in Doral, Divine Savior Academy provides PreK-3 – 12th grade students with college prep academics in a Christian environment. To schedule a private tour of the school, visit www.divinesavioracademy.com.
