The Saint Stephen’s Academic Team defended its Manatee County championship for the fourth consecutive year on Dec. 5, hosting and winning the final meet and the season title. SSES completed a dominant run, finishing the campaign with 938 total points. The 2nd-through-5th-place teams scored between 611 and 538 points. Three Falcons also topped the individual leaderboard – senior Jack Berry, juniors Matthew Thomas and Sidney Knowles (pictured) – and qualified to represent the county at state competition in April along with three students from public schools. Congratulations to all of the team members, including: Colton Melnick ’19, Maria Erquiaga ’20, Kassandra Haakman ’20, Mikayla Woodard ’20, Annie Class ’21, Tyler Katchen ’21, Connor McCray ’21, Jules Pung ’21, and Anusha Singh ’21.