C team in oral round 1. Photo Credit: Karen Manley
C team in oral round 1. Photo Credit: Karen Manley

“Knowledge never stops,” and neither does Knowledge Bowl

On the morning of Saturday, January 14, the Fossil Ridge High School Knowledge Bowl Team took second place in their second meet of the season. They’ve been working hard since the beginning of the school year, studying a variety of topics in order to succeed in this academic competition.

“The competition is two parts, written and an oral. The written places each team into different rooms for the oral part. There’s a 60 question test at the beginning of every tournament with your team, and higher scoring teams are placed in the high rooms for the oral. Then there are three [oral] rounds where you battle it out against the other teams, sort of like jeopardy,” explained sophomore Josh Lee.

D team answers the written portion of the competition. Photo Credit: Karen Manley

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The written portion was intense, as each of the 30 teams from in and out of PSD frantically scribbled their answers. Fossil’s A team answered 53 out of the 60 correct. B team answered 48, C team answered 38, D answered 29, and E team answered 37. This put the Sabercats at a starting total of 195 points.

After the written portion, Fossil was in first overall. Teams A, B, and E were in first place in their rooms. Just as well, D team was in second and C team was in third. Sophomore and A team competitor James Zheng reflected, “We did pretty well, I think we’ve got some good team energy going on. I think we can keep it up, I’m confident in our teams, and I think we’re gonna rock it.”

During the first round of the oral competition, A team scored 17 points, B team scored 8 points, C team scored 13 points, D scored 8 points, and E team scored 9 points. This put the team at a total of 251 points.

At the end of round one, Teams A,B, and E remained in first, C was in second, and D was in third in their rooms. “We did fantastic in Round 1. We won our room by a fantastic margin. I couldn’t be prouder of my teammates, everyone worked so hard and answered so many questions,” Senior Nick Lin commented.

As the competitors battled on through round two, A team scored 13 points, B team scored 11, C team scored 18, D team scored 4, and E team scored 4, for a team total of 301.

A team poses in “Squad Formation.”Photo Credit: Karen Manley

At the end of round two, teams D and C were in first place in their rooms, A and B were in second, and E was in third. A member of A team, Maas van de Graaf said, “We ended up against newer opponents, Grand Junction. They did quite well so now we’re a couple points behind them, but it’s definitely within reach to close that gap.”

Round three’s competition was fierce, as Fossil fought to regain their lead. A team scored 12, B team scored 18, C team scored 9, D team scored 8, and E team scored 7. This put them at a team total of 355.  A team was in second place, behind Grand Junction. B team was in second in their room as well. C team was in third in their room, and D team and E team were in first. With just one round to go, the Sabercats knew they really had to work hard and focus to come out on top.

In the fourth and final round, A team scored 15, B team scored 8, C team scored 9, D team scored 7, and E team scored 8. A team got second overall with 110 points, just ten points behind Grand Junction. B team got second in their room and 11th overall. C team was in third in their room but received twelfth overall. D team took first in their room and twenty fifth overall. E team took first in their room and twenty first overall.

Knowledge Bowl coach Mrs. Cranor reflected, “I think they did amazing. We now know what our weaknesses are and what we need to study. We just love playing together and we’re more motivated than ever to do really well.” Congrats to the Sabercats and come support Knowledge Bowl in their next meet January 21.

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