On Saturday, April 22nd, the Russellville High School Quiz Bowl team was once again victorious as they became the 2023 6A State Quiz Bowl Champions. This is the 7th state championship the Cyclone Quiz Bowl team has won since 2016. The Cyclone Quiz Bowl Team won with a score of 415, which is almost unheard of in the game of quiz bowl.
The students on the State Champion team are as follows:
Emj Hubbard, Crawford Rash, Gino Mascuilli, Hayden Daniel, Sarah Shoptaw, Claryn Nupp, Noah Wooten, Raynee Bacorn, Ali Hernandez, Avery Feemster, Logan Greggs, Greg Simpson, Shiann Sinor, Veeren Donda, Vicente Merino, Zion McArthur, Tyler Mitts, and Jafet Alcocer-Benites. The Cyclone Quiz Bowl coaches are Steven Quoss, Rebecca Quoss, Andrew Taylor, and Head Coach Dr. Paul Gray.
“I am so proud of how this group of students came together to make this win happen. Every student has a job to complete on this team, and they all stepped up and surpassed our expectations," says Coach Rebecca Quoss.
The game of quiz bowl is not easy. Players must know information about history, math, literature, science, geography, religion, government, art, music, and the list goes on. Players must not only know a lot, but they must be fast and anticipate where the question is going. For example, as Coach Quoss always says, “If you hear, ‘killed by an ice pick’ then buzz and say Trotsky."
The Cyclone Quiz Bowl ultimately won the state championship game against Benton. The final score was 415 to 205.
Coach Steven Quoss commented, “We have very talented students and their work ethic is amazing. They all are self-motivated to get better every day. They love to compete but more importantly, they enjoy the camaraderie with their teammates most of all. They are a special group of players who view each other as family and we are so fortunate to have them represent Russellville High School."
Now, the next goal for these students is to compete in a National Quiz Bowl Tournament in May. The team is working on fundraising for this tournament trip and will be hosting a car wash on Saturday, May 6th at the Burger King on East Main. Cyclone fans, we hope to see you there!
Congratulations to these students and their coaches!
Let's Go Cyclones!
#AchievingExcellenceTogether