Beggs Middle School brought home a State Championship this weekend and it may surprise you that it was not in football or basketball.
Four young men, all 7th grade students at BMS, were honored as Fortnite State Champions in the Oklahoma Scholastics eSports (OKSE) league.
Easton Howell, Hunter Driver, Camden Remington, and Jude Wells were all members of the championship Fortnite team.
Amazingly, this is the inaugural year for esports at Beggs Public Schools. Esports, or electronic sports, is a competition that involves team-based video games.
“This is certainly not the outcome we thought we would have the first year,” said Beggs esports coach Brandon Bookout.
Bookout credits Coach Daniel Markes for the success of teams in this competition, with another BMS team placing 5th and a third team placing 7th.
“He did a phenomenal job,” said Bookout. Coach Markes was responsible for building the rosters for the teams and placing individual players where they would be the most competitive.
“Coach Markes is the glue,” said Bookout.
Beggs was thrilled to learn last week that three teams would be competing in the finals of the Rattlesnake Division. This division has some of the largest and most experienced teams in the league including players from Moore, Lawton, Altus, and Oklahoma City Public Schools.
Finals competition, held online, was last Wednesday and players and coaches had to wait until Thursday night to learn the results.
“We knew how many points we had and had to wait on points tally from officials,” said Bookout. Of the over 30 teams in the league, only 20 had qualified for the finals.
With the announcement of the State Championship, came a trip to Weatherford on Saturday for the medal and trophy ceremony.
Winners, coaches, and their families met at Southwesterm Oklahoma State University’s Esports Arena and were able to watch some in-person championships before the presentation of medals.
“I think it allowed the kids to see that we are not just playing video games,” said Bookout. He stressed that the competition has also taught the kids how to work as a team and compete.
Another benefit, according to Bookout, is that kids who don’t normally interact at school are now teammates and working toward a common goal.
Esports is growing and many colleges and universities are now offering scholarships to players.
You can bet the program will be even more popular at Beggs Public Schools now after the success this fall.
“We are not just competing,” said Bookout. “We are actually competing at a high level and are capable of winning a championship.”
“The pressure is on now for these 7th graders, who will have to now defend their title,” he said.
Spring competition for BMS will again include Fortnite, structured a little differently with duos instead of teams. Also, Mario Kart and Rocket League competitions.
A BMS Rocket League team just missed the finals this fall.
Beggs High School competitors will participate in Fortnite this spring, as well as Mario Kart and League of Legends.
Other teams making the finals for BMS include:
5th Place team of Grant Riley, Brody Drinnon, Jordan Olden, Shooter Ogle, and Teagyn Baldridge.
7th place team of Zane Long, Fin Pryce, Judah Hughes, and Terrell Lyons.
