3 minute read
Quiz bowlers cap off a decade of dominance
Josh Bisdorf ‘22
The pressure was on. For the past nine years, CC’s academic team, led by coaches Ben Herman and Chris Gismondi, had prevailed in competition for the state championship. This year would be the tenth.
On April 17, four dedicated young men, sophomore Will Carstens and juniors Liam Cross, Drew Laroo, and Michael Yousif dominated the Division 1 Academic Team State tournament.
It was a year like no other: traveling for tournaments was eliminated, and the sense of competition in play was diminished, but zealous passion for the game of quiz bowl was demanded more than ever.
The arduous season of games, all online, required that the academic team adapt quickly to the new style of competition, such as the lack of a physical buzzer. Instead, they had to type “buzz” into the Zoom chat.
Up until the state tournament, the boys had a fatiguing season, placing second in tournaments from only a few minor mistakes. “There were definitely rough patches, but going home late on a Saturday after such a close loss was motivating to study the topics I missed,” said Carstens.
Then came the day that the boys had been preparing for.
“We preach working hard and staying dedicated. It doesn’t matter whether we are in person or online; we are going to put in the work,” Coach Gismondi asserted.
Their finals match against Okemos is evidence of that work. The Shamrocks dominated the match, winning the Division 1 state championship 525 - 120. With that win, the team earned their tenth state title in a row, wrapping up a decade of tradition.
“We had a responsibility to win this year especially for last year’s seniors who didn’t get the opportunity to play at states,” said Laroo.
The journey was not over yet, however. Something was missing. Because of a regulation change, there were no official games scheduled between the champions from differing divisions. Detroit Catholic Central, Division 1, did not have an official game scheduled at the state tournament with their long-time rivals Detroit Country Day, Division 2.
Halfway through the tournament, Coach Gismondi received an email from the tournament director asking if they would like to play in an “ultra states,” an exhibition match, with the Division 2 state champion team, and he obliged.
“If the opportunity to play more quiz bowl is there,” he said, “we’re going to play more quiz bowl.”
Country Day struck hard right out of the gate, and CC “negged” a question (answered incorrectly before the clue was finished). After six of twenty questions, DCD was leading by a score of 240-(-5).
“For the first time in my three years of quiz bowl, I felt the depth of the responsibility that we had to win,” Cross recalled.
Down 245 points, the Shamrocks maintained their cool, stuck to their training, and “played the packet,” a mindset used to focus and play fearlessly.
The match wasn’t lost yet, so they fought hard for the next fourteen questions and brought the match to a tie, 330-330.
“There was no time to celebrate the comeback. We just had to focus on the next question,” Gismondi said.
One tie-breaker question was proposed. The first clue was given, yet neither team buzzed in. Then, on the second clue, Laroo quickly responded with the correct answer, earning the Shamrocks the win and the undisputed title as the best team in Michigan.
With the win against their rivals Detroit Country Day, the boys agreed that they were finally satisfied with the many additional hours of studying and hard work they put into their season.
And with the win in the state championship against Okemos, they were proud to bring back another state championship to Shamrock Nation and cap off a decade of success.
Quiz ballers (left to right): Drew Laroo, Michael Yousif, Liam Cross, and Will Carstens
Photo submitted
