They are the brains, the intellects, or otherwise known as the A- team members.

"A-team" stands for "Academic Team," a competitive group like any other, but who competes using their knowledge. For many students their presence goes under the radar, but the A-team has been thriving at Palmetto High for around 20 years now.

"For me, A-team is a neat way to see what students are learning in other areas of school, outside of the history department," says Palmetto High teacher and A-team sponsor Mrs. Wallace.

The A-team goes through four competitions each year, ranging from September through December. They compete against 16 other teams within Manatee County and practice for these competitions every Monday after school. There are many active members of the A-team; in fact, Palmetto has one of the largest teams in the county. Within the school's teams they break up into multiple groups of four, where they compete in certain categories, trying to rack up as many points as possible. There are categories for all different types of intellects: mathematics, English literature, science, art, music, foreign language, and many more.

"My synopsis is that I am elated with the intellectuality of the superior beings that A-team surrounds itself with. In other words, we da best," said three year Palmetto A-team member, Hunter Brown.

The Palmetto High School team has represented the school well by climbing in the rankings for the duration of the season. After the November meet the 'Palmetto Black' team sat in 5th place for the season. Another accomplishment for Palmetto was made by the efforts of Nathan Callihan. He has become Palmetto's highest scorer and was the eighth highest scorer in Manatee County's A-team season after the November meet. At the end of the season the top six highest scorers in the county will represent Manatee County at the state competition. A Palmetto competitor has not yet made it to that level in the competition.

"I think it would be really cool to go to states because it would be a great accomplishment for Palmetto High," said senior Nathan Callihan.

With so many enthusiastic members, Palmetto High has thrived this year in the county wide A-team competition. They have truly represented the dedication, determination, and intellect of students at Palmetto.