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River Trail Middle School’s Academic Bowl Team Wins State, National Championships

River Trail Middle School’s Academic Bowl Team Wins State, National Championships
RTMS National Champs
RTMS National Champs 2

A group of dedicated students from River Trail Middle School is enjoying their recent win at both Georgia’s Academic Bowl state championships and the national championship.

 

The National Academic Quiz Tournament was held in Chicago in early May. The team secured a number-two seed on the first day of the tournament, winning seven of eight of their matches that day to compete in the double-elimination playoffs the following day. On the second day of competition, River Trail won three of four matches to advance to the final day.

“They won three matches in a row,” said Scott Fowler, River Trail’s Academic Bowl sponsor. “This time the Wolves prevailed, claiming the first quiz bowl national title ever for any Georgia school.”

It was the fourth top-five finish all-time for River Trail, who ended the year with an astounding 114-2 record.

Fowler, also an eighth grade English Language Arts teacher at the school, has sponsored the team for 11 years to remarkable success. His former Academic Bowl team members have gone on to compete in high school and college and even on Jeopardy!.

Prior to the national championships, said Fowler, “Our team was undefeated in middle school competitions this year with a 66-0 record, and we have won seven tournaments. Georgia has two state championship competitions, and we have won both.”

The two state championships include the Professional Association of Georgia Educators’ Academic Bowl for Middle Grades and the Georgia Academic Team Association’s Middle School State Championship. These wins gave the team the rank of third in the country.

In competitions, teams of five students advance through seven or eight rounds in a day, and questions cover several subject areas. It is a buzzer-based game, so teams that ring in first have the advantage.

“The key is to answer as early as possible,” explained Fowler.

At River Trail, about 100 students attended Academic Bowl tryouts in the fall, and 35 students were chosen for the team from sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

“Seventh and eighth graders have an advantage [with] content and experience,” said Fowler. “We’ve always had some successful sixth graders on the team. We try to get them to play a little more so they have some exposure.”

To prepare, the team practices twice a week before and after school. After each tournament, competition questions are published to be studied.

“The State Academic Bowl Championship is a symbol of academic excellence and exceptional trivia knowledge,” said River Trail Principal Neil Pinnock. “The students and coaches spent numerous hours preparing for the competition before, after and outside of school hours. The parents freed up their schedules and drove students to every practice and competition this school year.”

Once the students secured their Georgia championship, they began preparing for the national tournament in Chicago.

Following the national title, Pinnock said, “Congratulations to the River Trail Middle School Academic Bowl team who placed number one in the nation at the National Academic Quiz Tournament in Chicago. They beat out 160 teams from over 114 schools in 26 states to take home the championship for the first time in school history.”

The River Trail Middle School Academic Bowl State Champions include:

Eighth Grade

  • Justin An
  • Sheehan Banka
  • Kovid Cerejo
  • Kaiden Lee

Seventh Grade

  • Reyansh Krovi