Glasgow High School
(WCLU NEWS FILE PHOTO)
Submitted to WCLU News
ROSEMONT, Ill. – On the weekend of Saturday, April 29, Glasgow High School joined 130 of the top quiz bowl teams from small public high schools at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago for the 2023 Small School National Championship Tournament to determine who was the best.
Quiz bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students. It is the national version of the game that is often locally called Quick Recall. Quiz bowl 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.
Glasgow High School sent two teams to the 2023 SSNCT. The A team, in the Traditional Public Schools Division, consisted of Rudra Chaudhary, Danica Ingram, William Parocai, and Mary Kate Vance. The B team, in the Traditional Public Schools Division, consisted of Diya Nair, Kasan Peters, Shelton Potter, and William Vargas. The teams were coached by Todd Garrison, who was assisted by Jason Dooley.
Glasgow entered two of the six Kentucky teams competing at the national championship.
Glasgow A began the preliminary rounds with a ten-game winning streak, in which they defeated White Pigeon from Michigan; Oakwood from Fithian, Illinois; Southwestern A from Piasa, Illinois; Commerce from Georgia; Clever from Missouri; Waynedale from Apple Creek, Ohio; Plymouth from New Hampshire; Cloverleaf from Lodi, Ohio; Pierce City from Missouri; and Oakland-Craig B from Nebraska. They finished the preliminary rounds with a 10-0 record, which qualified them for the playoffs. Glasgow B finished the preliminary rounds with a 4-6 record.
There were some tense moments. The A team defeated Southwestern A from Piasa, Illinois by the narrow margin of 295-285 during round 4. The B team defeated Macomb B from Illinois by the narrow margin of 170-150 during round 8 and suffered a heartbreakingly narrow loss to Bayless from St. Louis, Missouri, 215-190 during round 12.
Glasgow A spent three playoff games on the brink of elimination. They defeated West Iron County from Iron River, Michigan and South Side from Hookstown, Pennsylvania before falling to the eventual champions, Fair Grove from Missouri, ending their shot at the title.
Glasgow B spent three games on the brink of elimination. They defeated Williamston from Michigan and Macomb B from Illinois before falling to George Wythe from Wytheville, Virginia, ending their shot at the playoffs.
William Parocai of the A team was honored as an All-Star for correctly answering 84 tossup questions — 21 of them for “power,” that is, so early as to earn extra points — in the preliminary rounds.
The A team finished in fifth place in the Traditional Public Schools Division, the best performance by any team from Kentucky at the 2023 Small School National Championship Tournament (Traditional Public Schools Division).
The Traditional Public Schools Division champion was Fair Grove R-X School Fair Grove, Missouri. The Open Division champion was the A team from BASIS Independent McLean McLean, Virginia.
The 2023 Small School National Championship Tournament (Traditional Public Schools Division)’s field featured 77 teams from 20 states.
