The Quail Run School chess team placed second at the National Elementary Chess Championships Friday through Sunday in Portland, Ore.

That follows a first-place finish at last year’s championships in Kansas City, Mo.

Sixteen Lawrence students competed last weekend at the National Elementary Chess Championships in Portland, Ore. Back row, from left: Brad Johnson, coach Steve Robinson, John McGrew, Steven Hamblen and Sisca Wolff. Middle row, from left: Roy Wedge, William Sotir, Benjamin Harms, Peter Lesslie, Ricky Bellinger, Dustin Brown and Stephanie Brown. Front row, from left: Jesse Madrigal, Jed Borovik, Danny Wolff, Harrison Helmick, Sean Stenseng and Anjali Datta. Johnson and Sisca Wolff are coordinators for the Quail Run School chess team. Not pictured is Keely Stenseng.

“We came to Portland as first-place co-champions to defend last year’s win in Kansas City,” coach Steve Robinson said. “The competition was much tougher this year, and we firmly established Lawrence as a national powerhouse.”

Sixteen Lawrence students from Quail Run, Broken Arrow and Wakarusa Valley schools competed in Portland. Players participated each day in rounds that take up to four hours.

Individual Quail Run students winning awards:

first, under 1,200 division, Jed Borovik, fourth grade.

first, under 1,000 division, Danny Wolff, sixth grade.

third, under 1,000 division, Sean Stenseng, sixth grade.

first, under 800 division, Jesse Madrigal, sixth grade.

Anjali Datta, a Quail Run fourth-grader, also contributed points for the team’s national placing.

The team will be honored with an all-school assembly later this week at Quail Run.

“I believe our success this week will accelerate the chess movement in Lawrence,” said Robinson, who coaches students at five Lawrence schools: Quail Run, Broken Arrow, Wakarusa Valley, Langston Hughes and Schwegler.

Other Quail Run team members attending nationals this week were Dustin Brown, Stephanie Brown, Steven Hamblen, Harrison Helmick, Peter Lesslie, John McGrew, William Sotir and Keely Stenseng.

Broken Arrow was represented by Ricky Bellinger and Wakarusa Valley by Benjamin Harms and Roy Wedge.