Thomas Repass, March 25th, 2024
Whilst practicing for their upcoming competition, Mrs. Maas, 2 year head coach of the Quiz Bowl team, asks members a complicated question. From the height of a crow’s nest and the height of a lifeboat, how many times further is the distance seen from the crow’s nest compared to the distance seen from the lifeboat? Within five seconds I had forgotten the bulk of the numbers, and within 10 seconds Milo Tao-Lin answered with ‘6’. He was, of course, correct. The evening featured these Popeye-esque sailing mathematics, as well as the romanticism of Tuberculosis, commentary surrounding I Love Lucy, and fangirling over Shakespeare.
They were an enigmatic bunch, prone to hijinks and mischief, and the sheer amount of knowledge thrown around the room was astonishing. This would only be magnified weeks later as they made their way to a final game against the surrounding counties at the Virginia Tech Spring Invitational. Let’s dive into this wonderful wunderkind tournament!
Arriving at 8:30 in the morning, they were strangely energetic and excited. Camaraderie was high and spirits were higher as Blacksburg Team A entered the room. Japanese symbols littered a chalkboard and Turner Ashby High sat down across from them. Seniors Ethan Ririe, Collin Holt, Luke West, and sophomore Salma Seyam sat down, with freshman Milo Tao-Lin ready to be subbed in during the second round. As questions began to fly, BHS took a big lead due to their teamwork skills and the ability to ‘defer’. Deferring is a Quiz Bowl term for when the captain can pass to a teammate so they may answer it on a bonus question. With Blacksburg’s unbeatable brains, Team A beat Turner Ashby without a hitch.
Time for the second game. Mrs Maas and I leave Team A, confident in their abilities, and go to watch Blacksburg Team B fight. This team features sophomores Rishi Nair, Brandon Hu, and Jingxuan (Shane) You and freshman Rithik Avinash. Don’t let their team name fool you dear reader, as they would have been more aptly named ‘the brilliants’ or’ the brainiacs’ instead. Facing off, they answered a bevy of questions, ranging from Virginia Woolf to Cellini. My personal favorite question was one in which the answer was The Book of Revelation. You see, dear reader, the Book of Revelation is an incorrect answer if you add an ‘S’. Turner Ashby answered “The Book of Revelations!” and was met by an “incorrect.” Jingxuan then answered “The Book of Revelation!” and was met by “correct.” Blacksburg Team B won.
Finally, we have BHS Team C. We’re a larger school, therefore we bring the big guns. It was Zephyr Heflin, Mateja Grove, Eli Simundza, and Hendrick Amelink on the front lines, facing off against Blacksburg’s own Team A. Mrs. Maas quipped, “Our state champs vs our future state champs!” Going head to head, my favorite question asked was one regarding Machiavelli. Team C, comprised solely of freshmen, were helpless when asked who said, “It is better to be feared than loved.” They have yet to meet Mr. Baker and his Euro class, and therefore have not the privilege of knowing ‘The Prince’. Team C lost, but the spirit in the room was of lessons learned rather than bitter defeat.
It was time for lunch! All the groups scattered in opposite directions and somehow all ended up like, “a shower of locusts,” as Zephyr so eloquently put it, upon Zaxbys. Food was ordered, ketchup bullets thrown, and group photos quickly taken. I believe a Zax sauce container was also thrown and imploded against a wall at one point; this anecdote is not entirely needed in our article, but it was quite hilarious so it’s staying. After all, it shows how much fun these teammates have when they're together. After this brief pit-stop, it was back to the nitty-gritty.
Everyone was preparing for their final bouts. BHS Team C gained ground, whilst BHS Team B found themselves doing just as well. BHS Team A was currently undefeated, and well on their way to winning the whole competition. They were tired, sure, so tired in fact that when one person yawned, Salma simply said, “Bless you.” But still, they were sharp as knives when it came to unmatched wit. During the last minutes of the tournament I sat in on Team A as they took a bye round. A moderator asked questions and they buzzed in verbally rather than with their crude little handheld buttons. Collin lazily answered question after question correctly, and Salma managed to consistently answer despite playing Candy Crush.
Finally, it was the beginning of the end. All the groups gathered, six schools in all. After an evening of Jeopardy-esque wonder involving Art History, Star Wars, Pigeon Forge, Hamilton, complex Chemistry, and intensely obscure geography questions, there was one clear winner. Blacksburg Team A, undefeated, walks forward and accepts their first place trophy with immense happiness. Team B won third place, with Team C close behind in fourth. Following their victories, classic novels are awarded to individual members who answered the most questions correctly. Collin Holt, Ethan Ririe, Rishi Nair, Luke West, and Zephyr Heflin are called to receive their reward. Mrs. Maas then gathered together all Blacksburg Teams for one final group photo, where they squeezed into a crowd to smile with pride at their job well done. Congratulations to our Quiz Bowl Bruins!
(Photo Credits: All pictures taken by Thomas Repass)
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