On Saturday, March 4th, six students on the Scholastic Bowl team competed in an event at DePaul Prep High School. The team won its first match and lost its second in a close contest.

The first match was against Wilmington High School, with the Colonels winning handley with a score of 540 – 180. As in all of their matches, there were 24 questions totals, and the team that earns the most points wins.

Following their first match, the team advanced to their second against Roycemore High School. Parker started off slow, beginning with a 100 point deficit — but with the help of players such as Matthew Turk, the Colonels rallied back, bringing it nearly to a tie. Despite the comeback, they couldn’t manage to take the lead, and ended up losing with a score of 380-60.

Scholastic Bowl Captain Micah Derringer reflected on his experience on the team. “I like to use the information I have learned,” Derringer said, “and I like the variety of topics that are covered. Also, I think that the people I meet there are really fun, and I like having the ability to connect with new people at the events.”

The Scholastic Bowl Club, which consists of 15-20 students and two faculty advisors, competes in several tournaments a year that are qualifiers for regional competitions. This year, the club has competed at schools such as Homewood Flossmoor and Carmel Catholic High School. The team is let by three captains: sophomores Matthew Garchik and Alex Shapiro and Derringer. Additionally, the club is advised by upper school math teacher Ethan Levine and upper school science teacher Xiao Zhang.

For the 2019-2020 season, the club’s captains hope to put on an MX to show students what Scholastic Bowl is about and generate interest for other high school students. Although the club is only for high school students, Derringer explained how he hopes that the MX will excite middle schoolers to join once they’re older.