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RCHS students finish third in national academic quiz competition
Rapp in top 25 percent of all teams competingSenior captain A.J. Collins offered a unique perspective on the Rappahannock County High School Scholastic Bowl team’s third-place finish in the National Academic Quiz Tournament in Chicago.
“Finishing third at nationals is like getting the bronze medal at the Olympics,” Collins said. “It’s like we were Tuvalu. No one had heard of them before. No one will remember their flag. They just walked in, got a medal and walked out quietly.”
Tuvalu is a nation, a former British colony located between Hawaii and Australia.
And the explanation that Collins offered, well, it sounds like someone who played in many Scholastic Bowl tournaments would give.
The 240-100 victory over Vermillion, S.D., early Saturday afternoon lifted the Panthers to their third-place finish and trophy in the small schools division of the 192-team tournament.
Overall, Rappahannock County placed in the top 25 percent of all of the teams competing.
Collins finished fifth in the individual scoring, averaging more than 77 points per match. The individual scoring champion, Ike Jose of Stow-Munroe Falls, Ohio averaged more than 85 points each match.
The third-place team finish caps an incredible season for Rappahannock County.
In compiling a 26-1 record, the Panthers rolled to their first-ever Group A Bull Run District, Region B and state championships. Being the top small school at last November’s EQUINE Invitational at Auburn High School in Riner, Va., qualified Rappahannock County for a bid to the NAQT.
“This season is going to be tough to top,” Rappahannock County head coach David Naser said. “No one can understand what Quiz Bowl is like unless they are there to see it.”
The 192-team field featured some of the top Scholastic Bowl teams in the nation, including tournament champion Charter School of Wilmington, Del., Paul M. Dorman, (S.C.), State College Area, (Pa.), Detroit Catholic, Maggie L. Walker of Richmond, Brindlee Mountain, (Ala.), Ottawa Hills, Ohio, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and Georgetown Day School (D.C.)
“We were known before nationals,” Collins said, “but we weren’t famous like those schools. It’s one thing to go to tournaments like Cave Spring or Auburn or to go to states. When you go to a (regional) tournament and play the Maggie Walkers or Georgetown Days, they are the devil you know. It’s another thing to face teams at the national level. To face a Bergen County, N.J., or see a Wilmington Charter play, they are the devil that you don’t know. “
The Panthers embarked on a campaign to raise the monies needed to take Naser, assistant coach Lanie Vickers and team members Collins, Tyler Crews, Austin Burnett, Steven Nelson, Brittany Clatterbuck and Taylor Light to compete at the national level. The fundraising efforts included hosting two tournaments, one just for community members to play.
Several other team members paid their own way to attend the tournament.
“It was an amazing experience,” Crews said, “just watching the other teams and seeing how they play.”
During the two-day tournament, the Panthers played 17 matches. To qualify for Sunday’s 15-team, small schools tournament, a team needed to have at least a 4-6 record on Saturday.
Rappahannock County finished 6-4, which also qualified it for the regular schools tournament. Ottawa Hills, the eventual small school champion, was the only other small school to achieve such a feat.
Three of Rappahannock County’s wins on Saturday came on the last question, including a 225-210 victory over Edmond Memorial (Okla.) to clinch a spot in Sunday’s competition.
“You have to fight for a win there, so it’s more intense,” Clatterbuck said.
The NAQT is different than anything that the Panthers experienced in Virginia High School League play. The 26 questions are much more difficult, and each match is just 18 minutes long. A quick answer to a question earned a team 15 points instead of the regular 10 points. Bonus questions could be worth as many as 30 points.
“Some teams were easier to play than others,” Crews said. “There were teams that would get the answer off the first clue consistently.”
Joe Vickers added that the reader of each match was most important.
“The important thing is to have a good reader,” he said. “You have timed matches, so you want someone who is good but not too slow. … Some rounds, you could be down 100 to nothing, but the bonuses went in our favor for the win.”
Among the readers for two of the Rappahannock County matches was Ken Jennings, the all-time Jeopardy champion. He served as the reader in Russell’s 275-165 victory over Rappahannock County, which ended its quest for a spot in the small schools national title match.
“As it turned out, at that point, I was wondering if we were going to make the plane to fly home,” Naser said. “Sunday was much busier than Saturday. We hardly had a break all day.”
The Panthers closed out the tournament with the victory over Vermillion to secure the third-place trophy.
“Coming out with a trophy,” Clatterbuck said, “well, it’s amazing what Rappahannock can do.”
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