Quiz Bowl wins 2nd Place at State Championships

On Saturday, March 2, a team of Hopkins high schoolers from the Quiz Bowl Club competed in the Connecticut History Bowl State Championship at Newtown High School in Sandy Hook, where they won 2nd place overall.

History Bowl is an academic competition that tests students' knowledge in history related topics, including geography, classics, and politics. Students are quizzed in a fast-paced question-and-answer format similar to the game show Jeopardy!. Competing teams consist of six students with a coach/teacher for each team. The competition consisted of four matches of prelims, where only those with the highest point totals could move on to the Upper Playoff Bracket. 

The Hopkins team placed 3rd in the prelims, and after a decisive win in the semifinals, played a competitive championship match against the top team in the state. The Hopkins team qualified for the History Bowl National Championship in Arlington, VA at the end of April, as well as for the International History Olympiad, scheduled to take place in London in 2025. 

The Quiz Bowl team has also competed in several other Quiz Bowl tournaments this year, including at the Island Cup in October, the Ithaca Fall Tournament in November, and the Belmont Winter Tournament in December. Quiz Bowl is structured similarly to History Bowl, but features a wider range of topics, including science, literature, and pop culture.

At the Ithaca Fall tournament, both teams played very well, with the B team placing 13th overall and A team placing 6th overall. At Belmont, the A team placed an impressive 8th out of 30 teams, with a record of 4-1 in the prelims and 7-3 overall. In addition, Hopkins players performed well individually at the tournaments, including Claire Billings (3rd at Ithaca and 11th at Island Cup) and Henry Foushee (9th at Belmont). The team is hoping to qualify for the Quiz Bowl Northeast Regional Championship at their upcoming tournament in April.

Good Luck to the team in their endeavors!

The Hopkins Team (pictured at Belmont):

Yuki Heeger ’25

Vera Okyere ’26

Neil Mehta ’26

Ethan Liu ’25

Henry Foushee ’25

Claire Billings (Captain) ’25

Henry Tanner ’25

Josie Lipcan (Captain) ’25

Sarah Galvani-Townsend ’25

Megan Williams, faculty advisor (not pictured)