The Washington High School WHS Scholar Bowl team took first-place honors at the Gateway Athletic Conference meet at Winfield on Saturday, March 11.
It was Washington’s fourth consecutive GAC title and seventh in the last eight years. The Blue Jays have posted a 62-2 record at the GAC meet over the last eight years.
Team members for WHS were seniors Cameron Schenkel, Grace Nuckolls and Austin Gober, and junior Vincent Hoang, who took a medal for First Team All-Conference as the fourth highest preliminary scorer.
The 12 teams were placed into twin brackets of six for a round robin format. The top three teams from each bracket advanced to the playoffs. The champion was determined by record first, and then by total points scored.
In the morning, WHS beat Ft. Zumwalt South 390-90, and then beat Orchard Farm 320-80. After a win against Holt 280-110, WHS barely scraped by a 240-210 win after Winfield had a big second half to pull it close. After defeating Francis Howell Central 390-80, WHS stood as the only undefeated team left at 5-0.
The three teams advancing from the other bracket were Troy, Ft. Zumwalt North and Warrenton, who were all in a competitive circle where they were 2-1 against each other.
In the playoffs, WHS and Ft. Zumwalt North took a 160-160 tie into tossup No. 15, but FZN pulled away on the last five questions to hand WHS its first loss at the GAC in four years.
WHS, coached by David Dennis, rebounded with a 100-point win over Warrenton in round 6, while Windsor beat Ft. Zumwalt North by 10 and Holt had earlier beaten Troy.
The Blue Jays’ game against Troy saw them down by 10 at the half, and then the craziest set of buzzes followed. Nuckolls inadvertently buzzed mid-question trying to stretch, and then actually pulled the answer. Hoang pulled an answer at the last second to take the lead, and then grabbed tossup No. 20 on violin to clinch the 240-200 win.
The win over Troy, plus results from other matches, gave the Blue Jays a first-place team finish.
GAC Scholar Bowl Champions
The Washington High School WHS Scholar Bowl team took first-place honors at the Gateway Athletic Conference meet at Winfield on Saturday, March 11. From left are Cameron Schenkel, Grace Nuckolls, Austin Gober and Vincent Hoang.