High school student Jason Simmons arrived at Thomas College on Friday evening for his first-ever overnight IT competition, the Thomas Cup.  

He was disappointed when he realized he was missing two people from his team. Would he have to leave before it began? Drive all the way back to Portland?  

That’s when two of his rivals turned into great teammates. Three students from Baxter Academy and two students from Maranacook High School had never met before that night, but by morning – they were proud winners of the Thomas Cup! 

“I am amazed that we were actually able to do it since at first both teams only had about half a team, and none of us expected to do well,” said Jason. “By the end, we found out that we all worked perfectly together, and each person would contribute the most to a certain competition.” 

This was Jason’s first time competing at Thomas Cup. He said he loved how many different challenges there were, giving him a chance to learn to work together. Jason loved the innovation challenge the most because he loves working with a team and building things. He also loved the food and the welcoming staff. 

“It was a great experience, and I would most definitely do it again – win or lose.” 

The fourth annual Thomas Cup, an overnight IT and gaming competition, featured 32 teams, five competitions, and 160 high school students from all over the state. 

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This was winning teammate Maranacook high school student Vincent Bero’s first time at the Thomas Cup, also. He said he loved the robotics competition.  

“I was incredibly surprised to win, knowing most of us are freshmen,” said Vincent. He said they were able to pull off the win thanks to each team member’s varied skill set.

“All of us were good at different things, like I think I was pretty good in robotics while someone else was really good at league and so on. We also got along really well from start to finish.”

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Baxter Academy freshman Christopher Kusturin loved the fun, high energy of the Thomas Cup.  

“It’s so cool that Thomas College allows a bunch of schools to come together and have this one big competition,” said Christopher.  

Christopher’s favorite competition was the League of Legends because he plays it frequently, and everyone played with great sportsmanship.  

Christopher said he’s not sure how his team of strangers worked so well together; but, from the start, he said they had great synergy. He was very surprised when they learned they won.  

“My team was definitely not expecting it, but afterwards it did feel good,” he said. “I would definitely pin the win on my teammates. If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have come close.”

Other members of the Thomas College 2018 winning team are Anna Swimm, of Maranacook High School, and Joseph Poissant, of Baxter Academy.