By Marie Kennedy, The Mountain Times
A team of four fifth grade students at Welches Middle School have taken first place in the Clackamas County Regional Division of the Oregon Battle of the Books, or O.B.O.B. They call themselves the Welches Reading Rizzlers. They’ve worked hard for this honor, and now they’re headed for the state championship.
The annual literary competition, open to students from grades three through twelve, challenges participants to read a selection of books and compete in quiz-style battles that test their comprehension and recall. There were three teams from Welches participating this year in the regional competition.
The 2025 booklists, divided by grade level, feature a mix of contemporary and classic literature, ensuring a wide range of themes and perspectives. The selections often include award-winning titles that broaden students’ understanding of different cultures, historical events, and social issues.
The Rizzlers are competing in the third through fifth grade grouping, and competing against 31 other schools. The team members are Maizie Horner, Autumn Hanifin, Erin MacInnis and Andi Sheehan, and they are four very bright young ladies. Last year they placed second in regionals; this year they took first. They’ll be going to the state competition on April 12 at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon.
“We got the book list almost a year ago,” says Allison Horner, Maizie’s mother, and the team coach, “and my daughter has read most of the 16 books three times.”
The four team members are close friends, and they all love to read, but the key thing is retaining the details within the books. Allison continued, “We learned last year, quickly, that they’re not just asking basic questions in the competition. They may ask for the tiniest details, that are only mentioned once in the book. The team has to answer with the correct book title and author name and use correct pronunciation in order to get points.”
Allison continued, “I made them all binders, and we have character analysis sheets, and book study sheets where they fill in details. And then we work with their practice questions. These girls have worked so hard, but they also have a real ability to retain the facts.” They practice two to three times a week, either at school during lunch or recess, or after school, taking lots of breaks to keep things fun.
“I’m really proud of them,” Allison says, “I’ve talked a lot about sportsmanship, like keeping a poker face if they know the answer to a question, so they don’t distract the other team. And they always congratulate the other teams, have positive things to say. Being a good sport is important. I’m so proud of them.”
“One thing I definitely want to mention is that the Lions Club has been incredibly generous,” Allison added, “Their support made it possible for any student who wanted to be involved in O.B.O.B to have access to the books.”
“We’re in shock that we’ve been able to make it this far,” Allison smiles, “and I do think that part of it is that Welches is just a magical place, such a special school.” I think we can all agree on that.