Quiz Bowl Wins SNC Championship Again
On Monday, March 24, six students traveled to Fairbury High School to attend the Sourthern Nebraska Conference High School Quiz Bowl Competition. Due to a conflict with practice for this weekend’s musical, all of the team members were not available to attend.
The format for SNC Quiz Bowl is slightly different than other competitions. Each team consists of five players competing in each match and allows for alternates to sub in-between matches. Every match has 15 toss-up questions that individual players buzz in to answer. If the player answers the toss up correctly, the team earns 10 points and is given a bonus question worth five points. If the answer is incorrect, the other team has a chance to answer. There is a 10-second time limit for each question, except math questions are given 20 seconds.
After a practice round against Fairbury (won 65-20), the double-elimination tournament began with a first round match up against Sutton B. After a convincing win, the next opponent was Fillmore Central A. Heartland beat the Fillmore team 95-30, and that created a match up against our neighbors from Sutton. At the end of question 14, the score was tied 55-55. With a quick buzz in and a correct answer, Heartland was headed to the championship match of the winners bracket. After an extended wait for the next opponent, Heartland faced Thayer Central B. At the end of question 14, Heartland was behind 55-60. Luckily, another quick buzz and correct answer gave the Huskies a 70-60 victory, and the Huskies were guaranteed a medal.
The championship pit Heartland against a David City team that had just defeated Sutton and Thayer, so a tight match was expected. After a slow start, the Huskies were able to tie the match on question nine at 55-55. Heartland never trailed again and won with a final score of 95-70.
This is the second SNC championship and both Austin Schmidt and Tara Buzek were on both winning teams. The team brought home a new placard to add to the SNC plaque in the hall outside of the north gym and gold medals.
The season continues next Wednesday with a contest in Seward ,and the highlight of the season takes place on Wednesday, April 30, at North Shore Assembly of God Church in Hastings when the team competes at the state competition. The final competition will be the following week for an underclassmen contest.
Congratulations to the team and coach Heidi Ruhl on another great victory.