PERRYSBURG—Some writers waited calmly while others stood with their knees knocking together. An entire year of Power of the Pen practice was about to pay off.

Coaches of the Perrysburg St. Rose Power of the Pen team are, first row, from left, Martha Culley and Kathy Henry. Team members are, second row, from left, Ryan Peiffer, Allison Studtmann, and Kent Chovanec. Third row, from left, are Anna Studtmann, Nicole Renninger and Erika Krausz. Fourth row, from left, are Jordan Conrad, Erica Lydey and Megan Henry. Top row, from left, are McKenna Kulish, Sarah Hunter and Courtney Dane. (Photo courtesy of Perrysburg St. Rose School)

It was the state competition at Wooster College, and seventh- and eighth-graders from all over the state, including Perrysburg St. Rose School, gathered to write the best stories they could in 35 minutes or less from story prompts given to the writers at the start of the contest.

When it was over, St. Rose’s combined seventh- and eighth-grade team placed seventh overall in Ohio. The next closest competitor from northwest Ohio was McCord Junior High School in Sylvania, which placed 14th overall. St. Rose and McCord fielded the only Power of the Pen teams in the area that finished in the top 25 of Ohio schools.

According to the Power of the Pen organization, nearly 4,600 writers took part in district level competitions during the school year. Of those, only 668, or about 15 percent of the participants, qualified to compete at the state Power of the Pen finals in Wooster May 22.

Competing at the state competition from St. Rose were eighth-grader Anna Studtmann and seventh-graders Kent Chovanec, Megan Henry, Erica Lydey, Nicole Renninger and Allison Studtmann. Allison was the only team member who qualified for the final “power round” at the state meet.

Other team members who competed for St. Rose during the year were eighth-graders Jordan Conrad, Courtney Dane, Sarah Hunter, McKenna Kulish and Ryan Peiffer and seventh-grader Erika Krausz.

Martha Culley and Kathy Henry coached the teams.