Up to the challenge
Knights take home top honor at Tri-County Academic Challenge
By Dave Mast
January 31, 2011
323
The scene at the annual Tri-County Academic Challenge tournament at West Holmes High School on Saturday, Jan. 22, was eerily similar to the one that took place last year. In Div. I, West Holmes came crashing through the winners bracket en route to winning that divisional title, while at the same time, Wooster High School came ripping through Div. II en route to their championship. What that meant was that the two schools would once again meet in a clash of the titans in the world of academic challenge, to see which school would carry bragging rights away this year.
However, this time around the finals resulted in a different outcome for the two teams. Last year, Wooster fought past West Holmes in a spirited contest that saw the Generals take home the big trophy with a 110-95 finals victory. This time around, an extremely experienced Knights team turned the tables, routing the Generals in the finals by a 125-55 count.
I thought the kids did an absolutely fantastic job all day, said Helga Long, West Holmes advisor. It takes a lot of confidence and nerves of steel to sit there with a buzzer in your hand under that kind of pressure, especially against the kind of competition we faced today. Im really proud of them.
Last years group of West Holmes competitors consisted of Cory Snively, Kirk Hendrick, Logan Mullet and Danny Nelson. This year, all returned to the academic challenge team, a year older and a year wiser, and that experience has proven to be defining in the teams monumental success this year.
At this years event, Snively, now a senior, Hendrick, a junior, and Nelson, a sophomore, again sat shoulder to shoulder to face the competition. Mullet, a senior, has been instrumental in the teams success to date, but prior commitments meant he would not be able to attend this big event, meaning that a pair of junior varsity members would have to step in. Enter Cameron Klotz and Nick Gantzler, who stepped up and admirably joined Team West Holmes, and helped do a number on the competition.
It is wonderful to have the kind of talent from the junior varsity team that can step up like they did and perform well, said Long. Our varsity kids have done such a fantastic job all season long, and once again they just went out and did their job, calmly and confidently.
West Holmes blasted Rittman in the opening round, 105-20, then got by Chippewa 110-80 in what would be a key contest in round two. West Holmes then nipped Hiland 65-55, advancing to the finals of Div. I. Hiland had gotten past Smithville 65-60 and Hillsdale 80-50 before falling to West Holmes The Hawks then dropped to the losers bracket, where they fell to Chippewa 95-25, finishing third.
So Chippewa found themselves in the finals against the same team that had narrowly beaten them earlier, and the Chipps had a chip on their collective shoulders. In a fantastic game, Chippewa snuck by the Knights 95-85, thus forcing a second match, since West Holmes had yet to be beaten in the double elimination tournament. West Holmes regrouped and downed Chippewa 80-15 to win Div. I.
Now, it was just a matter of whom they would face in the overall finals.
They didnt have to wait long to find out, as a familiar foe arose from Div. II. Wooster went on a rampage through the division, going undefeated on its why to its title. First Dalton went down in a 60-25 contest, then Wooster doubled up Triway 110-55 to move into the semi-finals. There, the Generals got the best of Cloverleaf in a close 65-50 contest, then awaited their competition for the finals to arrive via the losers bracket. Cloverleaf would topple Orrville, which had lost its first match of the day and clawed its way back into the game, by a 100-75 count, but Wooster was more than up to the challenge, topping Cloverleaf again, 75-25.
Thus, it was a rematch of last years championship round, but this time, it would be a good night for the Knights.
We knew they had a great team coming in, but we had plenty of incentive, said Long. There is always such strong competition throughout this tournament.
West Holmes has had a great deal of success this season, having won the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament in November, and then finishing second in a strong field at the Mohican Challenge. While this victory would have qualified the team for regional competition this spring, West Holmes had already qualified via its performance in winning the OCC tournament.
In addition to the academic challenge portion of the event, there was also a 40 question written test for junior varsity members not on the varsity team. Members could participate in social studies, science, math or language arts, and winners were determined in each category by the number of correct answers. The students were given one hour to complete their test.
This competition is slightly different in terms of intensity and quick-draw ability, since competitors dont have a buzzer in their hand, having to beat someone else to the punch for the right answer.
First place in English went to West Holmes Devin Williams. First place in math went to West Holmes Raennn Keck; second place in math was a tie between West Holmes Alexandra Stroffolino and Loudonvilles Emily Schneider. First place in science went to Rittmans Nick Shows, with second place going to Loudonvilles Kirkland Ring and third place going to Cassie Garver of Rittman. First place in social studies was earned by West Holmes Aaron Reining, with second place being awarded to Hillsdales Brooke Switzer and third place going to Rittmans Dylan Rogers.
The nice thing about this kind of competition is that, every year, we get to see a great group of kids compete, said Karen Burkett, the Academic Challenge coordinator with Tri-County Educational Service Center. Not only are they extremely intelligent, but they are also very polite and well-mannered.
Burkett thanked the moderators and advisors who volunteered their time to run the event, which features schools from Holmes, Wayne and Ashland counties, including West Holmes, Wooster, Hiland, Chippewa, Cloverleaf, Orrville, Rittman, Waynedale, Smithville, Hillsdale, Mapleton, Northwestern, Loudonville, Dalton and Triway.
