Several Mars Area Middle School students competed in the Academic Games League of America (AGLOA) Current Events and Theme academic competition, held Feb. 23 at Slippery Rock University.

Participants included eighth-graders Sarah Arnold, Julian Coquelet, Alexa Everhart, Grace McCarty, Olivia Miller, Brody Slavicek and Clarke Wickland; and seventh-graders Sabrina Ruiz-Gonzalez, Brett Kelly, Jackson Kotula, Grace Nam, Luke Reinhart, Elizabeth Schwartz and Brynn Williams.

As part of the Current Events competitions, students joined in two question and answer rounds — a Lightning Round focused on the topics: People in the News, Sports, Entertainment, Disasters, Science/Technology, and Business/Economy; and, a Wager Round, which asked questions regarding National and International News and Politics. For the Theme contest, students were asked to study The Gilded Age and to answer questions related to the period of American history between 1876-1912.

The competition, open to students in Grade 4-12, brought together 49 students from Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties. For more information, contact Courtney Gallagher, Mars Area Middle School librarian/media specialist, at (724) 625-3145 or visit www.agloa.org/current-events/.