ATLANTA, Ga. — Middlebury Union High School joined 351 of the top high school quiz bowl teams on the weekend of May 26, at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis for the 2018 High School National Championship Tournament. The field featured teams from thirty-five states, Canada, and China. Ken Barkdoll, Nico Brayton, Silas Conlon, Lucy S. Groves, Greta Hardy-Mittell and Sophia M. Marks represented MUHS at the event, along with coach Perry Lessing.
One of only two Vermont schools at the competition, MUHS finished 4-6 in the preliminary round. Their shot at the playoffs ended when they lost to Fort Osage High School from Independence, Mo., in round 6.
The national version the Scholars’ Bowl, Quiz Bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students. Teams use buzzers to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports, and popular culture. The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in all subject areas. Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.