West Carroll Students Excel at Tennessee State BETA Convention

NASHVILLE — West Carroll students represented their schools at the Tennessee State BETA Convention November 18-25 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, bringing home eight first place wins. West Carroll high school, junior high, sixth grade and elementary school students participated in this annual gathering focused on academic achievement, character, leadership and service.

The convention gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills alongside peers from across the state. West Carroll students participated in a wide range of events, including engineering, visual arts, marketing and academic testing.

Many West Carroll students placed in the top five of their categories, qualifying for the National BETA Convention held in Nashville in June 2026.

The senior high team, consisting of 31 students, brought home 19 top-five awards.

Jada Bradshaw won first place in eleventh-grade history, Carson Cooper won first place in tenth-grade history, Chloe Rimmer won first place in ninth-grade ELA, Madison Galloway won first place in eleventh-grade social studies, Taytum Jenkins won first place in eleventh-grade psychology and Aubrey Hammett won first place in tenth-grade psychology.

The high school Accessorized Design team won second place in its category, and Hailey Mitchell won second place in twelfth-grade social studies.

Chloe Pinson won third place in onsite drawing, Hannah Pinson won third place in twelfth-grade biomedical, Alayna Lovelace won third place in tenth-grade biomedical, Arlexis Perry won third place in twelfth-grade ag-science, and Ethan Mueller won third place in tenth-grade ag-science.

The high school Marketing team won fourth place in its category, the 3D Design team won fourth place in its category, Hannah Pinson won fourth place in fiber arts, and Jack Robinson won fourth place in eleventh-grade math.

Britni Shepherd won fifth place in twelfth-grade history, and Gracelyn Vernon won fifth place in eleventh-grade health and physical education.

High school student Ava Pinson was also recognized for her work in tenth-grade ELA.

West Carroll’s younger students also had a strong showing, working together in team events and individual competitions. West Carroll Junior High’s BETA Club brought home two first-place wins and eight additional top-five wins.

West Carroll Junior High’s 2D Design team won first place in its category, and Ella Rogers won first place in seventh-grade social studies.

The junior high Accessorized Design team won second place in its category.

The junior high Engineering team won third place out of 131 teams in its category, and Ally Clarke won third place in seventh-grade U.S. history.

The junior high Marketing and Apparel Design teams each won fourth place in their respective categories.

The junior high club trading pin designers won fifth place in their category, the junior high Musicology team won fifth place and Austyn Inman won fifth place in onsite cake decorating.

Anastin McAlpin was a top-20 finalist, out of 100 competitors, in the speech competition.

West Carroll Elementary School and sixth-graders had four big wins at the conference.

Cooper Pinson, Paisley Bennett, Cruz Rogers and Liam Hudgins won third place in community service learning; Paisley Bennett won third place for her club trading pin; William McAlpin won fourth place in woodworking; and Rylan Cherry won fifth place in photography.

West Carroll schools’ staff recognized additional students and teams for their hard work and dedicated demonstration:

In sixth grade, students Taylor Daffron, Sofia Blackketter, Norah Reynolds and Kailey competed in musicology; Taylor Daffron, Sofia Blackketter, Norah Reynolds and Knox Crews competed in the quiz bowl; Taylor Daffron, Sofia Blackketter, Norah Reynolds and Knox Crews competed in 3D design; Cruz Rogers, William McAlpin, Paisley Bennett, Carly Willis and Kailey competed in academic competitions; Ellie Everett, Garrett Hammett, Camilla Jenkins (digital art) and Norah Reynolds (scrapbook) competed in visual and digital arts competitions; and Eligh Dunn and Beckett Dunn competed in engineering.

From the elementary school, Hannah Jackson, Brooklynn Hilliard and Lillie Atkinson competed in the quiz bowl, and Carleigh Coleman competed in the scrapbook category.