O’Neill finished first and Crofton was second in the double-elimination Quiz Bowl championships that took place on Wednesday, April 9, at Northeast Community College.
After O’Neill High School defeated Crofton in the championship, Crofton met Clarkson in the consolation match to determine second and third. Crofton rebounded to finish second.
Crofton has performed well in recent years, finishing first in 2023, with student Jack Schieffer on both teams.
In Quiz Bowl, toss-up questions are worth five points. Teams that get the toss-up question correctly receive a bonus question worth 10 points. If a team misses the toss-up question, it is reread, and the other team can answer. If that team answers correctly, it receives an opportunity for the bonus question and 10 points.
The team from O’Neill consisted of Logan Bradshaw, Benson Bohlender, Oliver Wlaschin, Karlee Seger and Tessa Herbert. The Eagles were coached by Casey Petersen, with Emily Wlaschin an assistant coach.
Crofton was represented by Katie Neuharth, Riley Arens, Jack Schieffer, Grant Schieffer, with Frank Gade the coach. Gade also coached when Crofton was second in 2023.
Clarkson finished in third place. Clarkson was represented by Josh Eisenmann, Jusin Eisenmann, Korbin Lemburg, Caleb Christenson and Isabella McAtee. Sid Ready was the coach.
There were 28 teams that entered this year, with about 140 students. The first Northeast Community College High School Quiz Bowl took place in 1984, with Northeast staff and faculty volunteering to operate it as they still do today.