Washington High School is home to many teams—ranging from football to golf to swim—but one team specifically challenges students’ academic ability while still allowing them to engage with teammates. The WHS Scholar Bowl team challenges students on their ability to answer a variety of questions ranging from literature, pop culture, science and mathematics all within a time limit. If the students know the answer, they buzz in via the buzzer provided and gain either 10 or 15 points which contribute to the overall team score. Although some questions students may know from school, students use notecards, read textbooks and study old questions trying to give WHS a competitive edge.

“We practice two hours after school once a week,” senior Jonathan Amlong said. “I’m usually practicing in some way every day.”

Out of the seven tournaments they have competed in, the WHS varsity Scholar Bowl (A team) have won three.

“We’ve had a lot of good games and some maybe not so good, but we can learn from all of it,” senior Carrie Derner said.

Seniors Derner, Amlong and Ryan Hill and junior James Collier seemed to have learned from their losses because on Feb. 10 at Orchard Hill, the WHS A team won the GAC conference over Francis Howell, Troy Buchanan and six other teams.

“It was a great experience, especially being with my team,” Hill said. “We tend to do pretty well at most tournaments, but it’s nice to come home with first.”

This is Scholar Bowl’s third year of winning this title. After a historic winning season last year, which led to them being MHSAA Class 4 Scholar Bowl Champions, the students are trying to do their best to create their own legacy at WHS.

“There is definitely a pressure because last year our team did really well at State—we won,” Amlong said. “The expectations are high for us, and I would say there is definitely a good amount of pressure to perform…it’s motivated me.”

These students still have many more tournaments to compete in, including nationals which will be held in Atlanta.

“It’s going to be nerve-wracking, but [big tournaments] are fun,” Collier said.

While the teams are busy studying and preparing for the rest of their season, Derner, along with the other two seniors, are leading the way.

“I think it is really important to have involved seniors that set a good example for the freshmen coming in,” Derner said. “It’s important to have that source of motivation for them to show them how the hard work really does pay off it you stick with it.”

Winning the GAC Conference has hopefully given this team the momentum they need to accomplish their initial objectives.

“The ultimate goal is to win State, but there’s definitely some tough competition this year,” Amlong said. “Besides that, I think we can snag a couple more tournament wins before the season is over.”