This year, quiz bowl at Jackson Prep thrived, with the team coming in the top 3 in every tournament they competed in. 

The first tournament was the 2020 Old Capitol Bowl. The Old Capitol Bowl is a one-day quiz bowl tournament usually held at the Old Capitol, held virtually this year, that tests the competitors’ knowledge of government, civics, politics, and Mississippi history. The team, consisting of senior Tanner Gough and sophomores Anna Kat Bertolet and Jake Mathews, came in second place, losing to East Rankin in the finals.

Next up was a one-day MAIS quiz bowl tournament held in January. The team, made up of seniors Alex Roberson, Cass Rutledge, Ty Usey and sophomore Jake Mathews, once again finished second to East Rankin. 

The final tournament of the quiz bowl season was the Mississippi Academic Competition, a multi-week tournament from March to April. The quiz bowl team, composed of seniors Selby Ireland, Alex Roberson, Ty Usey, and sophomore Jake Mathews, with alternates Camp Carter and Edward Wilson, competed against 14 other teams from schools around the state. The style of the tournament was a double elimination, so when the team lost to MS Pine Belt in the first round, they had a chance for revival in the loser’s bracket.

In the loser’s bracket, the quiz bowl team swept Clinton High, MRA, Petal High, and even got their revenge against MS Pine Belt. Sadly, their winning streak came to end when they lost in the semifinals to Brandon High, the tournament runner-up who lost to East Rankin in the finals. 

Jake Mathews, who competed in every competition this year, gave a few words about the season, “I had a really fun year and it was interesting to learn from the genius, Ty.  It will be hard to replace those three next year.”

Mr. Lain Hughes, the coach of the quiz bowl team, had this to say about the team’s success, “I’ve been proud of this year’s team. They’re all knowledgeable on their own, but they also got better over the course of the year at working together as a team. We had good senior leadership this year, so the onus is on the underclassmen to step in and fill that void next year.”

The quiz bowl team practiced during activity period every Thursday in Mr. Hughes’ room. They practiced by individually answering questions by buzzing in, so Mr. Hughes would ask a question and whoever buzzed in first, got to answer. If students got the question right, they would get points and whichever students had the highest amount of points, come time for a tournament, got to compete on the tournament team. Additionally,  there is a fixed-carrier elective quiz bowl class. The class alternates between watching documentaries, doing mini-research projects, and competing in a variety of ways, from individual and team buzzer competitions to Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy. 

With a majority of the quiz bowlers graduating this year, now is a good time to join in and show off what you know.