Junior Varsity Scholars Bowl kicked off the new season with an 11-0 win in their first meet last Thursday at Topeka High School.

“We went 11-0 on the night and finished in first place,” Ted Dawdy, Scholars Bowl coach, said. “Eleven matches in one night is quite a lot. Typically it’s seven or eight.”

In Scholars Bowl, a team of five completes against another team of five from another school in a series of rounds. Each round has 16 questions, all incorporating each of the core subjects. Every first correct response is 10 points. Ezster Chikan, Luke Liu and Abrar Nasser, all freshman, attended the meet on Thursday and managed to place first.

“Our communication throughout the rounds were really good, and if we maintain throughout the year then we’d do really good this year,” freshman Luke Liu said.

With a long season ahead, the team has a few goals to accomplish for upcoming meets and tournaments.

“Towards the end of the year our goals are to win the Centennial League Tournament, qualify for the State Tournament and place at the State Tournament,” Dawdy said. “We are on a run of placing four consecutive years at the state tournament which says a lot about the program. Only one other 6A school has accomplished that, Wichita West.”

Lots of practice and hard work will definitely get Scholars Bowl to that point, but even after a spectacular win, there is always room for improvements.

“We did have some minor issues that I noticed, such as speed and confidence in ourselves to get the right answer,” freshman Abrar Nasser said. “If we build that up a bit more, I think our situations will be a little better.”

Not only did the meet require Scholars Bowl to show off their intelligence, but it also was an invite for the team to meet new people.

“I enjoyed meeting new people,” Chikan said.

In conclusion, Scholars Bowl came out undefeated and managed to win with only three freshmen. With a bright future ahead, Scholars Bowl should have a great season.

“It’ll be a great year for J.V.,” Liu said.