Savannah Gutterud felt the pressure, but the 12-year-old didn’t cave.
Instead, the homeschooled sixth grader rose to the occasion during the Junior Bible Quiz Nationals, answering question after question with precision.
When it was all said and done, Gutterud helped her River of Life Fellowship (10615 SE 216th St.) team bring home a national title from the event, which was held in Red Oak, Texas, from June 10-12.
This was Gutterud’s fifth — and final — trip to the Junior Bible Quiz Nationals. She went out in style, too, leading her team in most questions answered correctly.
“It was my last year getting to go since I will be too old next year,” said a beaming Gutterud. “I did feel a little more pressure and felt like I had to do something. I felt I had to do a little more.”
In five years of trying, this was Gutterud’s first time among the top 15 scorers in the event.
“For Savannah to take first place, literally, that’s the best prize you can get,” said coach Jennifer Braham, who also is the Director of Children’s Ministries at River of Life Fellowship. “But it took the entire team.”
Indeed it did. And Gutterud received plenty of help from her teammates, which included: Sarah Toole, Daniel Gallegos, and Matthew Braham.
But Gutterud’s team wasn’t the only local squad to excel at the Junior Bible Quiz Nationals as another group of four from the River of Life Fellowship — Aliyah Fashaw, Teddy Gutterud, Michaela Tool, and Austin Shepard — brought home a fifth-place finish.
There are more than 1,000 Junior Bible Quiz teams in the nation, Braham noted, which helps put in perspective what these eight youngsters were able to accomplish. To qualify for the national event, teams must first advance through a district, state, and regional tournament. Eighty teams and 330 individuals from around the nation advanced to the national tournament.
“What made the victory so precious is that we had two teams qualify, which was a feat in itself,” Braham said. “To have both be in the top 10, and for our team to secure first place, it’s just so sweet.”
To learn more about Junior Bible Quiz Nationals, go online to: www.jbq.org or www.jbqfestival.org.
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