Swift is pictured with International Academic Competitions Founder David Madden
By Andrew Harris,
Over the past week, Cuba-Rushford 6th grader Jakobe Swift, competed in the International Academic Competitions or IAC National & US History Bees respectively. The IAC founded by David Madden, pictured with Jakobe, and holds Jeopardy style academic competitions in all kinds of areas such as Geography, Science, & History. Last year Swift made the quarterfinals of the National History Bee & the Semifinals of the US History Bee. This year he did even better.
For the National History Bee, almost two hundred 6th graders from all over the nation competed. After 4 rounds of play he finished in 40th place entering the playoffs; making him a quarterfinalist. During the quarterfinal match, it was down to the last question where he was within striking distance to make the Semifinals. However, he was beaten by another buzzer at the last second! Jakobe he knew the answer to that question about the Louisiana state flag having blood put on it. He finished in 27th place.
It was amazing to see, however he wasn’t done.
During the US History Bee after the completion of the 1st 4 rounds, he had enough points to make the Semifinals. During this semifinal match he really shined, taking the highest score in his room and second place overall, moving him into the finals. When the dust settled he ended up in 6th place. He was saying that for this year he’s the 6th smartest 6th grader at US Hi in the entire country.
His parents are beaming and had this to say:
“Heather Mouser & myself, Jerome Swift, couldn’t be prouder of what this young man has accomplished. It was just incredible to watch & we are still in awe. The best part of the whole thing is that he had so much fun and can’t wait for next year already.”
If you see Jakobe around town be sure to congratulate him on being the “6th smartest 6th grader in the United States!”
Read more about Jakobe from our reporting in 2023:
