Quiz Bowl Team Sets a Precedent
Greenies compete on national stage for first time
Retiring coach Sandy Powers has one major takeaway from the Christ School Quiz Bowl Team's first-ever appearance in a national tournament.
The first will not be the last.
Powers is bullish about the future after seeing Davis Grubb '18, Lux Haney-Jardine '20, Michael Mahoney '20, and Wyatt Gildea '19 combine their intellectual might at last weekend's Small School National Championship Tournament in Chicago.
The Greenies tackled more than 1,000 questions and won half of their 10 matches. The foursome was one 10-point question away from reaching Sunday's playoffs.
"It was an unforgettable experience and we're very proud of all four guys," Powers said. "They are fantastic. I told them at dinner Saturday night, 'Guys, you will be back.' Davis is graduating and we're going to see who can take that fourth spot. But I have no doubt that the other three guys are going back."
Davis, Lux, Michael, and Wyatt dedicated the tournament to Powers, who is retiring as a Math teacher at the end of the school year. Powers coaches the Greenie Quiz Bowl Team along with History teacher Ben Dowling.
"The entire quiz bowl group is such a pleasure to work with, but these four guys really earned their spots," Dowling said. "They worked hard to absorb new material and they have a dedication that surpasses previous teams. They deserved to go to nationals and we are proud of their record."
The trip to Chicago was very much for business purposes, but the Greenies still managed to squeeze in some fun. They attended a Major League Baseball game at venerable Wrigley Field, saw the Lincoln Park Zoo and The Art Institute of Chicago, and took a Chicago architectural boat tour.
Powers said that Friday's boat tour even yielded a few answers to tournament questions which were asked in rapid-fire fashion. Matches that might normally take 25-30 minutes were condensed to 18.
"It was great, educational and fun. All but one of the boys had been to Chicago before," Powers said. "This was my third time going, but hardly anything overlapped. Three of the four boys take AP Art History with Mrs. (Sarah) Baldwin, so I know they thought it was really cool to see those pieces of work in person at the museum."
Looking ahead, Powers said she does plan to be affiliated with future Christ School Quiz Bowl teams as a mentor.
