Team captain senior Mark Bailey scored the highest total score in the competition with 450 points — 100 points higher than his nearest competitor. He was joined in the win by juniors Kelly Jones and Townson Cocke and sophomore Emnet Arefe-Aine. (Photo: ACPS)
Titan Scholastic Bowl State Win is No Trivial Matter
By Mary Wadland
T.C. Williams High Schoolhas won the Scholastic Bowl state championship for the first time in T.C. history. The team of seniors, sophomores and juniors finished with a perfect 3-0 in the Virginia High School League competition at the College of William and Mary, unseating reigning state champion Robinson High School.
The Scholastic Bowl is a fast-paced question-and-answer academic competition that promotes learning, expands horizons and rewards teamwork. Questions relate to a wide range of academic topics, including science, history, literature, fine arts, religion, mythology, philosophy, and English, as well as including some pop culture elements such as sports, TV, and music. Each question consists of several sentences containing clues that progressively go from obscure to well-known. The team also competes in the televised quiz show, “It’s Academic,” on which they’ll next appear in May.
“To have our Scholastic Bowl team take the state championship in an academic competition and contribute to that sense of pride makes it a meaningful victory for the whole school. T.C. is a real anchor in the community and is a great source of Titan pride. I’ve received dozens and dozens of emails congratulating the team on the historic win,” said English teacher and Scholastic Bowl coach Matthew Zahn.
Zahn has sponsored the team for the past three years and coached the students as the team evolved to become a top competitor.
With the state win, the team has earned a spot at two national competitions. A banner representing the team’s state win will hang along with others from the rafters in the T.C. gym.
