CENTERBURG – The undefeated Quiz Bowl team is rewriting Centerburg High School history. The team competed in the OAC Southeast Regionals on April 15 and won first place in the tournament with a score of 5-0. Because of this victory, the team at the Ohio Academic Competition State Tournament for the first time.
Quiz Bowl Adviser Mike Vargo described the success of the team.
“It would have to go down as the most impressive performance in Centerburg Quiz Bowl history,” Vargo said. “We’ve never qualified for the state tournament before, but we’ve been to the regionals 14 times now. This is the first time ever that we’ve broken through to the next level, so this is a really big deal.”
The Regional Tournament took place at Fisher Catholic High School and was set up in a double-elimination format. Centerburg was the only school to keep a perfect record, winning all matches. After correctly answering 20 out of the 50 placement questions, the team was named seventh seed out of 15 schools.
The team had a strong start with an 88-23 win against Division 1 school Grove City.
Following this, the team advanced in the bracket and won a close game with the No. 2 seed, Teays Valley. The match came down to the aptly named “lightning round,” and ended with Centerburg’s victory by a margin of four points. The final score was 68-64.
The next competitor was the No. 3 seed, Mt. Vernon. Despite losing to Centerburg during the league championship, second-place Mt. Vernon also advanced to regionals because the top two teams qualify.
The Mt. Vernon match was close, and the lead switched between teams before Centerburg’s win, 60-56.
The next step in the bracket was a match against St. Charles. Despite its ranking as the top seed, Centerburg prevailed after an intense match with a final score of 72-63.
Junior Maddie Donabauer described the experience of competing in the match.
“It was really nerve-wracking because we were down,” she said. “We [thought], ‘If we do really well in this alphabet round, then hopefully we can come back for the lightning round and win this match, and then be able to go to state for the first time.’”
Donabauer also described the feeling of accomplishment that comes along with knowing an answer.
“It feels really good when you know a question and you can answer it,” she said. “You know that you just helped out your team.”
While St. Charles kept the lead in the first half, the team did pull through in the alphabet and lightning rounds, bringing Centerburg its victory and a place at state.
The next match played was the deciding factor in the winner of the tournament. Because of the double-elimination bracket, Centerburg faced St. Charles again, to either win regionals or play another round to decide the winner. It was a close match, and a last-minute grading of alphabet round questions led to a very close final score of 48-47.
Senior Oliver Griffith said he enjoyed that fast-paced final match.
“My favorite part about the Quiz Bowl meet was the final match to clinch the regional win,” he said. “It was so intense and came down to one point. It felt extremely rewarding to see the countless hours of work pay off for our team.”
The team’s success has had a positive impact on all team members, including underclassmen.
Freshman Quiz Bowl member Sophie Garcia said she looks forward to continuing the team’s winning streak.
“In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if it was something that I wanted to pursue,” she said. “But after the very first match, I knew I would be coming back next year. I am proud to be a part of this team and hope to bring it to future greatness.”
.webp)
.webp)
