Quiz Bowl Places 6th at Nationals

The Prep Quiz Bowl team competed at the 16th annual National Championships Tournament hosted by International Academic Competitions at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington last weekend.

The team, consisting of captain Aidan Lutz ’27, Quentin Cunningham ’26, Mario Bagnara ’27, and Cameron Bonanno ’27, finished in 6th place in the varsity team division.

In addition to the team competition, Prep students competed in more than two dozen individual competitions and written exams, earning 10 awards, including two first-place medals and three third-place medals and trophies.

Entering the tournament as state champions, The Pirates were ranked 8th overall in the History Bowl team competition and lived up to that ranking by going 10-0 in the initial round-robin stage, qualifying for the playoffs with the 4th-highest score overall.

The team won its first two playoff matches before falling by just 10 points on the final question to Ransom Everglades School. Despite the loss, The Prep still qualified for the quarterfinal round on the final day of competition based on total points scored.

In the quarterfinals, the Pirates faced Northview High School and jumped out to an early lead, but Northview proved too strong in the end, winning the match and eventually finishing second overall in the tournament. The Prep finished 1-1 in its remaining matches to secure 6th place overall.

In the individual events, junior Aidan Lutz won the gold medal in the Varsity Map and Flag Exam, the bronze medal in the Varsity International Affairs Exam, and was a semifinalist in the Varsity division of the National History Bee, the National Political Science Bee, and the National Geography Bee.

Sophomore Quentin Cunningham won the gold medal in the JV Military History Exam, the bronze medal in the JV European History Exam, captured the 3rd-place trophy in the JV National US History Bee, finished 5th in the JV National Political Science Bee, and was a semifinalist in the JV National History Bee.

The future looks bright for The Prep Quiz Bowl program, with all four varsity team members set to return next year alongside a promising group of rising freshmen.