Academic Team Plays Tough Match Against Frederick and Urbana Friday Night

WHS Lions Pride Original Story:

by Jessica Bentley of the Walkersville High School Lion’s Pride

The academic team started off their season last week, winning second place. This week they go on to try to win first place.

For those who do not know, there are five rounds in the competition. The first round is the lightning round on a selected topic. The second round is the no buzzer round, in this round each team gets the question and discusses the answer. The third round is called the math round. In this round you answer five math questions along with five miscellaneous questions. The fourth round is a special category, and each week it changes. This week is Broadway musicals. The fifth and final round is the twenty question round.

Our Walkersville team is made up of about fifteen people. They have only had one round, if you do not count the tv show. The team is made up from people of all grades. The head coach is English teacher John Van Bloem, and the assistant coach is math teacher Darrin Drum.

Van Bloem said, “We are very nervous. We are playing what look like the best two teams, Urbana and Frederick. They both won their matches. Our hope is that they overcompensate and make mistakes like buzzing in too quickly and we are able to squeeze in there and win. Our team mindset is slow and steady so I think we might be able to get in there and win, but who knows. The regular season doesn’t matter that much anyway except for standings. The championship is where it counts. Our goal is in the championship we are able to be one of the final three teams at the final table. Last year we were there and lost by a point.”

Sophomore on the team Caleb Chen said, “ I signed up partially because I like trivia. My best subject is just general information. The last round is the best for me because it is random information, not just one subject.” He also said, “I want more people to come out on Fridays.”

Newer to the team, sophomore Jonathan Rushbrook said, “I joined because Chen convinced me to; it had also appealed to me because I enjoy watching Jeopardy. It is kind of fun and you will be surprised by how much you learn. My best subject is geography and current events. My hardest subject is literature; give me anything in that category and I struggle. Personally the lightning round is my favorite; they hit you quick and hit you hard with the questions.”

It will be cool to see the outcome in this event, as well as future events. The team sounds like they are a good unit of people and are ready to win.