2008 Academic Bowl Season Summary
by Tracee Orman
March 10, 2008
Academic Bowl Season Summary
After six months of listening to toss-up questions on subjects such as trigonometry and 18th century British literature, the EHS academic bowl team ended their season last week with a semi-final round loss to eventual Regional champs Alwood at Riverdale High School.
The team started out with a first-round win against Westmer, 119-108. Junior Matt Swanson led with three toss-ups, juniors Jes Sasko and Joe Bright each had two, and senior Sam Berk had one. Senior Jordan Morrissey, junior Ashley Heppner and sophomore Sean Leeds also contributed to the win during the bonus questions.
The team struggled, however, in the semi-finals against Alwood. They were unable to beat them to the trigger on many toss-ups and fell short during the bonus rounds, losing 180-20. Swanson was the lone toss-up earner, proudly answering the question in the “Miscellaneous: Agriculture” category. Seniors Berk and Matt Armstrong, juniors Sasko, Bright, Heppner, and Brittany Schmidt, sophomore Leeds, and freshman Hannah Sauer all tried to help the team, as well. For moral support, sophomore Madelyn Dorta and freshman Jordan Achs were on hand in the silent cheering section.
“It’s always hard to end the season with a loss—especially one like this,” Coach Orman said. “But I’m proud of their effort and enthusiasm for academic bowl. We’re still a young team and have a lot yet to learn. With four of our top five toss-up earners returning next year, there’s very little to be disappointed about.”
Overall, the varsity ended with an 11-21 record. Sasko led the team with toss-ups, earning 55 for the season. Swanson had 42, Bright 14, Berk 11, Leeds 7, Sauer and Heppner 2, and Schmidt and freshman Joacin Gurrola each had 1.
The date for the end of the season banquet has not been set yet, but will be within the next couple of weeks.
Fresh/Soph Squad Competed at Orion Tournament
Did you know that Heath Ledger starred in the classic movie “Rebel Without a Cause” and Elvis was the front man for “The Doors”?
Neither did we. And apparently no one else knew that either, which is why these “creative” answers (given by the EHS fresh/soph team) were wrong! Of course, the parents and coaches in the audience were screaming “James Dean!” and “Jim Morrison!” in their heads a few weekends ago at the Orion Fresh/Soph Academic Bowl tournament.
Sophomores Nate Agnew, Zach Agnew, Caitlin DeWitt, Madelyn Dorta and freshman Jordan Achs competed in three matches Feb. 23. They went 0-3 against Aledo, Orion, and Wilton (Iowa). “We often learn more from our losses, so it’s still a great experience for the kids to play as many tournaments as possible regardless the outcome,” Coach Orman said.
Achs led the group with four toss-ups, Dorta had two, and DeWitt, Nate Agnew and Zach Agnew each had one.
The fresh/soph squad ended their season with a 2-14 record. “Eventually, I’d like to be able to take the students to more fresh/soph tournaments where they are actually asked fresh/soph level questions,” Orman said. “Most of the tournaments fall the same day as our varsity tournaments, so we’ve missed out on quite a few.” Almost all of their matches this season were at varsity tournaments with varsity-level questions.
The fresh/soph squad is also responsible for helping out when the varsity hosts tournaments or home matches. “The Masonic tournament would not have run nearly as well as it did without each and every one of our fresh/soph players who helped out that day,” Orman said. “From keeping score on the board to setting up and tearing down the rooms, these kids did it all without complaining.”
Toss-up earners for the season were: Hannah Sauer 9, Dawn Lackey 8, Jordan Achs 7, Shelby Howard 5, Joacin Gurrolla 5, Zach Agnew 3, Nate Agnew 3, Sam Cady 3, Madelyn Dorta 2, and Caitlin DeWitt 1.
The team will conclude their season with an end-of-the-year banquet within the next couple of weeks.
