ARKANSAS, NATIONAL CHAMPS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 42 YEARS

Here are the Champs

Left to right: Will Stump, Keegan Fuller, Ian Warnick, Matthew Fox, Gidian Fuller, and Alyx Dunaway

Three Arkansas teams advanced to the quarterfinals: Russellville A&B and Little Rock Central.  Russellville A was defeated by Scarsdale B 305-250.  Russellville B overcame Little Rock Central in a classic contest, 330-290.

 

GEMS Dubai advanced farther than any overseas team in NAC history.  They just kept on winning on Playoff Sunday: 270-220 over Madison Central; 290-265 over East Penn, and 285-245 over Orlando Christian in the quarterfinals.  Their streak ended with a 310-200 defeat at the hands of Russellville B.  In other quarterfinal action, Parkland beat Edgemont B, 350-265.  Parkland then overcame Scarsdale B, 330-275.

The championship game

At the end of the “Warm Up Round” the game was tied at 50.  In the “Bonus Round,” Russellville swept this bonus:

ALLUSIONS

(5) People who follow a group or leader without thinking may be referred to by the name of what small Scandinavian rodents said to march in long lines into the sea when they overpopulate a region?

         Ans. Lemmings

 

(10) In remembrance of a line from Emerson’s Concord Hymn, any dramatic statement or action that initiates something important or that greatly influences events to come is called what? An example was Bobby Thompson’s home run in 1951.

         Ans. A shot heard round the world

 

(15) One always on the move with no abiding place is said to suffer the curse of what biblical figure who was banished from his home for the rest of his life?

         Ans. Cain

 

They also stole this 15-pointer from Parkland:

 

In early 1979, China initiated a substantial incursion into the border regions of what neighboring country, referring to it as a defensive counterattack?

         Ans. Vietnam

 

Russellville led at halftime, 150-110.

 

In the “Seventy Seconds Round,” Parkland advanced 70-20 on their category,  ATOMIC PHYSICS.  Russellville advanced 90-0 on their choice, BOOK TITLES TAKEN FROM LITERATURE, and led 260-180 going into the final period.

 

In “Stump the Experts,” Parkland swept this Shakespeare couplet:

 

Infinite Jest, the title of a David Wallace novel, is an allusion to Hamlet’s description of what character in the Shakespearean play?

         Ans.  Yorick

 

In The Tempest, who is the son of the witch Sycorax and the slave of Prospero?

         Ans.  Caliban

 

They impressed us with their correct answer to this audio question:

 

MUSIC … It’s a vocal exercise or concert piece sung to one or more vowels.  Name the best known such piece, this one by Rachmaninoff.

                       Ans. Vocalise

 

But Parkland’s fourth-period exploits were not enough to catch up with Russellville, which won the title game 360-300.

Horace Greeley/ VISUAL … The artist who painted this woman’s portrait was the leading neoclassical painter of the early 1800s.  His insistence on detail is evident in this portrait.  Can you name him?

Ans. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

We would have bet $10,000 nobody would get the last question of the Stump the Experts round: 

Eastchester/ VISUAL … He’s not Winslow Homer, but he is best known for his portrayals of the Maine seacoast. Here’s a good example, titled Maine Islands.  Name the artist.

But Horace Greeley knew it was John Marin, stealing the 20-pointer, resulting in a tie at 345-345. For the first time in 41 years, the Varsity finals went into overtime.   

Horace Greeley got the first overtime question right:

According to John McCrae’s poem, “In Flanders Fields,” what do the poppies blow between?

         Ans.  Crosses

Eastchester’s question:

He had great affection for his Long Island birthplace.  He published the “Centennial” collection of his poems in 1876.  The 1861 firing on Fort Sumter inspired him to write the poem, “Beat! Beat! Drums!”  Name the poet.

Walt Whitman was the answer, but no points were scored.  Horace Greeley won 350-345, becoming the only school to win the title three times.  (Irmo SC did it in 2002.)  Horace Greeley was the only one of our champions (Elementary, Middle School, JV, Varsity) to go undefeated, at 10-0.

Hastings

Always tough, Westchester County’s Hastings High advanced both teams to the quarterfinals, with the B team falling to New Orleans Jesuit 280-285, and the A team edging American School of Tegucigalpa 360-340 before defeat at the hands of Horace Greeley in the semifinals.

Rookie of the Year

Shady Side from Pittsburgh was the highest-ranked first-timer, and Douglas (NV) was the only other rookie to make the playoffs.

Scoring Leaders

We’re always interested in how a team’s points per game average correlates with their tournament final rank. Seldom does a given team win both.  In 2024, however, Russellville B did win the points title, with a 320 average.  Parkland was second with 293, and Scarsdale B third at 283.

John Cooper School

Evidence of an improving quality of Quiz Bowl in Texas, John Cooper School saw their JV team advance to the semifinals and their Varsity team to the “Sweet Sixteen.”

MVP

Horace Greeley showed the hallmarks of most of the great teams in NAC history: a great captain with a significant contribution from teammates.  Captain Owen Sibinga showed all the qualities of a great captain – listening to all suggestions of his teammates, relaying (in almost all cases) the correct answer to the moderator in timely fashion.  He earned this year’s MVP award.

 

Owen Sibinga

Coach of the Year

Kevin Yokum, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014, has been named Coach of the year for leading one team to the JV finals and another to the Varsity semifinals.  He’s the only person to achieve both honors.

Kevin Yokum

Qualifying for 2025 Nationals

Keep in mind that all 2024 playoff teams have automatically qualified for NAC XLIII. Return to QUnlimited.com in September, when information on any Saturday virtual tournaments and 3-2-1 events will be posted. We will also provide details on next year’s National Academic Championship

Hall of Fame

  • Mike Keller (Irmo, SC, ’85-87)
  • Eric Evans (Granville, OH, ’88-89)
  • Jim Paluszak (Dorman, SC, ’89-91)
  • Matt Bruce (Booker T. Washington, OK, ’89-92)
  • Mark Staloff (East Brunswick, NJ, ’94)
  • Brad Rutter (Manheim Township, PA, ’92-95)
  • Brad Harris (James Island, SC, ’92-95)
  • Amanda Goad (Governor’s School, VA, ’93-96)
  • Scott Petty (Houston Eisenhower ’95 and Houston Memorial ’96)
  • Justin Powell (James Island, SC ’95-98)
  • Ryan Cooper (James Island, SC ’95-99)
  • Jonathan Hess (Irmo, SC, 1998-2002)
  • Sara Sheer (Horace Greeley, 2001-2004)
  • Matt Pargeter (Holland Hall, OK, 2002-2005)
  • Nate Mattison (Byram Hills, NY, 2004-2006
  • Fuhe Xu (Harrison, IN, 2004-2007)
  • Ariel Schneider (Harrison, IN, 2004-2007)
  • Dylan Hames (Booker T. Washington, OK, 2006-2008)
  • Alex Pijanowski (Harrison, IN, 2011-2013)
  • Max Smiley (Horace Greeley, 2013-2014)
  • Kevin Yokum (New Orleans Jesuit, 2013-2014)
  • Luke Minton (El Paso Coronado, 2013-2015)
  • Jaskaran Singh (Plano West, 2017-2018)
  • Brian Li (Pingry, 2020)
  • Maggie Brett-Major (Holton-Arms, 2022)

winners of our 41 tournaments

  • 1983 — Walt Whitman (Bethesda, MD)
  • 1984 — Wheelersburg (Wheelersburg, OH)
  • 1985 — Skyline (Dallas, TX)
  • 1986 — Irmo (Columbia, SC)
  • 1987 — Walnut Ridge (Columbus, OH)
  • 1988 — Eleanor Roosevelt (Greenbelt, MD)
  • 1989 — Dorman (Spartanburg, SC)
  • 1990 — Collegiate (Richmond, VA)
  • 1991 — Dorman (Spartanburg, SC)
  • 1992 — Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, OK)
  • 1993 — Torrey Pines (San Diego, CA)
  • 1994 — East Brunswick (NJ)
  • 1995 — Governor’s School (Richmond, VA)
  • 1996 — Houston Memorial (TX)
  • 1997 — Edison (Huntington Beach, CA)
  • 1998 — State College Area (PA)
  • 1999 — James Island (SC)
  • 2000 — Manheim Township (PA)
  • 2001 — Irmo (Columbia, SC)
  • 2002 — Irmo (Columbia, SC)
  • 2003 — Horace Greeley (Chappaqua, NY)
  • 2004 — St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN)
  • 2005 — Holland Hall (Tulsa, OK)
  • 2006 — Byram Hills (Armonk, NY)
  • 2007 — Harrison (West Lafayette, IN)
  • 2008 — Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, OK)
  • 2009 — John Cooper (The Woodlands, TX)
  • 2010 — Zionsville (Zionsville, IN)
  • 2011 — Harrison (West Lafayette, IN)
  • 2012 — University of Detroit Jesuit (MI)
  • 2013 — Horace Greeley (Chappaqua, NY)
  • 2014 — Jesuit (New Orleans, LA)
  • 2015 — Coronado (El Paso, TX)
  • 2016 — Daviess County (Owensboro, KY)
  • 2017 — Zionsville (Zionsville, IN
  • 2018 — Plano West (TX)
  • 2019 — University of Detroit Jesuit (MI)
  • 2020 — Pingry (Basking Ridge, NJ)
  • 2021 — Byram Hills (Armonk, NY)
  • 2022 — Holton-Arms (MD)
  • 2023 – Horace Greeley (Chappaqua, NY)
  • 2024 – Russellville (AR)
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