Let’s Get Quizzical

One answer can be the difference between $10,000 and a bitter defeat.
Returning Quiz Bowl team member and sophomore Allen Bogoslavsky knows defeat all too well. Last year, Bogoslavsky was the only new addition to the team at first. “Last year,” Bogoslavsky said, “We placed fourth in state. We didn’t prepare that well, but we’re doing things really different this time.”
The Quiz Bowl team has around twenty members, a dazzling improvement from last year’s team of fewer than ten. “I’m really changing things this year,” said Mrs. Lisa Connell, the sponsor for the Quiz Bowl team. Mrs. Connell said, “We’re practicing more this year, and I let a lot more kids join. We definitely have a shot of winning state.”
“We only took five members to the state championships last year,” Bogoslavsky said, “but we still sent two members to the all-star team, which wasn’t surprising considering how well they did.” One of those all-star members is senior Henry Edwards.
“I wasn’t on the team for most of last year,” said Edwards, “and it wasn’t until Mrs. Connell walked into my Algebra II class and asked for volunteers that I decided to join.” With the regional championships fast approaching, the Quiz Bowl team had only three members ready to compete.
In a desperate attempt to find a team member, Mrs. Connell went searching for volunteers. What she found was one of the best quiz bowl players in the state. Edwards said, “I’ve always been really interested in history, and I got a lot of questions right when I watched Jeopardy. So, I decided I’d give Quiz Bowl a shot.” He ended up being one of the high scorers, helping to carry his team to the finals and qualifying for the state all-star team. “It was a really great experience last year,” said Edwards, “but we have a lot more structure this time. We also have more members, so I doubt we’ll need volunteers at the last minute again.”
Edwards and his team are motivated to win the state title this year. “If we win State,” Edwards said, “then we get $10,000 in scholarship money for the team to split. Winning a state quiz bowl championship looks pretty great on college applications, too.” The final match will be televised, giving both teams additional exposure.
“Other schools,” Edwards said, “have students on the Quiz Bowl team that only do quiz bowl. We don’t have that here at Catholic. We only have renaissance men.” Edwards also competes in cross country and is on the Rocket Times staff. “I don’t think this puts us at a disadvantage, though. It makes us more well-rounded people,” said Edwards. “Other larger schools might have more students to choose from, too, but our academics are more intense and, and we have higher test scores, so I think we’re fine. Also, I thought I should mention that we destroyed Mount St. Mary’s last year during regionals.
“I didn’t expect to be that good at quiz bowl when I volunteered, but I found something that I’m great at. I guess my main point is that people should try new things, because you never know what hidden talent you might have,” said Edwards.

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