VWHS Quiz Bowl team heads for nationals

VW independent/submitted information

Members of the Van Wert High School Scholastic Bowl team will be traveling to Rosemont, Illinois, to compete in the National Academic Quiz Teams (NAQT) small school tournament April 29-May 1. The tournament includes 80 high schools from across the country with an enrollment of 500 or less in grades 9-12.

The team qualified by finishing first in the Small School Division at the Columbian Exposition Scholastic Bowl Tournament, a regional competition held in Tiffin in October, said Anita Zuber, advisor for the VWHS team. There were 18 teams from northwest Ohio, including Toledo, Findlay and Dayton area schools, at the competition.

“I am very proud of the team’s efforts and accomplishments this year,” said Zuber, who has been advising the team for four years. “They have worked very hard to earn their spot at nationals, becoming the first team in Van Wert history to make it this far in academic competition.”

There are 14 students on this year’s team, and many of the students are in band, play sports, and are active in the high school’s theatre productions, Zuber added.

“Quiz Bowl is one of those organizations that many people never see,” said VWHS Principal Bob Priest. “These students work very hard, and put in an excessive amount of time. It is impressive.

“Obviously, it’s paying off,” he added. “Here in Ohio, they have earned much admiration and respect, and now it is exciting to see how we fare nationally. This is just another example of success that is occurring at VWHS.”

The students are very dedicated to the team and their hard work to improve has put Van Wert on the map for Ohio Scholastic Competition, Zuber noted.

“It is a huge honor that we can represent our school in a national competition, and we are all excited to go and compete with other schools, and we hope that our hard work pays off,” said VWHS junior Brock Berry. “I’m so excited to see how we can compete on a bigger scale and how we hold up to competing with schools from all over the country.”

Zuber said the team competes in over 15 tournaments each year, some large tournaments with schools from all over Ohio and some smaller area events. At the Sidney tournament, the team placed third, losing a tough match to Northmont, winners of the 2015 state Ohio Academic Competition. Most recently, the team finished second at the Van Wert tournament and first at the Lima Bath tournament.

“The students are very dedicated to the team and their hard work to improve has put Van Wert on the map for Ohio Scholastic Competition,” Zuber said.