MLB.com

MLB.com, which plans to expand the contest to additional states this year, provided each class with the contest rules and with help to begin building a team Web site including player photos and bios, team logos, worksheets and guides, sample articles, story suggestions, information on how to research statistical and historical information and other tools.

"It's one of the best sites I've ever seen," Bowman said, noting that the school's site would be viewed by nearly 1 1/2 million people Wednesday as it was featured on MLB.com and whitesox.com.

"I didn't expect very much when they asked me to look at the winning entry," Reinsdorf said. "But when I saw this, I knew it wasn't just a good site for kids this age -- it's a great site if it had been designed by adults. It's an incredible accomplishment."

Reinsdorf not only invited Room 204 to a game at U.S. Cellular Field, just a few minutes north of the school, but also extended the invitation to the entire school.

"We're very proud of every student here at Wadsworth Elementary," Quinn said. "We all should be proud of the hard work, determination and imagination of these students. ... You can learn a lot by working as a team, in baseball and in life."

Using images of first baseman Paul Konerko, designated hitter Frank Thomas, right fielder Magglio Ordoñez and left fielder Carlos Lee, the site breaks down into four main sections: science, language arts, math and social studies. Visitors can complete a series of exercises in each section, which incorporates information the students researched on whitesox.com.

"I didn't really have an interest in baseball," said Angel, a member of Wadsworth's 'tech team.' "[The contest] was more of an opportunity to have fun and learn. It's exciting to have a Web site that you helped create."

And while the excitement of claiming first prize was easily recognizable on the faces of the students, teachers and administrators were just as excited, if not more so, about the fact that the students gained knowledge about computers, their classroom subjects, and most important, themselves, through the project. Members of the "tech team," who may have entered the contest without much computer training or general baseball knowledge, accepted the challenge, staying after school a couple days each week to work on the site's features.

"It was better than going home to do homework," Lenardo, a tech team member, said of the experience.

The many benefits of the experience were indeed appreciated by all.

"I'm so proud of Ms. Jones and our students," Wadsworth principal Velma Cooksey said. "This just confirms for me that when teachers have a desire to teach and students have a desire to learn, it becomes a winning team."

Two other sites were honored as runnerups. The entry from Sherwood Elementary school in Highland Park, Ill., focused on the Cubs, as did the entry from Wauconda Grade School in Wauconda, Ill.

Damon P. Young is an editorial producer for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or any of its clubs.