Mr. Newkirk became the lowest seed to win the Teacher Madness championship in 2022. Starting from a #3 seed position, Newkirk was able to defeat Mr. Folk, Mr. Cornelius, and #1 overall seed Coach Nay. The tournament victory capped off a great year for Newkirk as he was also selected as one of 50 teachers nationwide to be invited to Disney's Imagination Campus in recognition for being an innovative teacher.

"I just want to thank everyone who took the time to vote for me," Newkirk said. "I had amazing opponents, not only this year but the last two years as well. It's been fun participating in the bracket and seeing students get excited about the amazing teachers here at CC."