Morris, Preston Academic Teams headed to Nationals

With its strong finish at the Cougar Invitational, the Morris High School Academic Bowl Team proved themselves worthy to play on a national stage. This Friday, April 26, the team will represent their school in a 143-team national competition: National Academic Quiz Tournaments’ Small School National Championship Tournament.

The Preston High School Academic Team will also be joining Morris at the national tournament.

The 2024 Small School National Championship Tournament (SSNCT) will be held at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago in Rosemont, Ill. (near Chicago) on April 26-28.

Quiz bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students. It is the national version of the game that is often locally called Academic Bowl. Quiz bowl teams use buzzers to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports, and popular culture. The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in all subject areas. Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.

Morris has attended the Small School National Championship Tournament three times before. Most recently, in 2023, they entered two teams, both of which made the playoffs, the better finishing in thirteenth place.

The SSNCT is the only quiz bowl national championship pitting small schools against each other. It has one division containing non-selective public schools with 500 or fewer students in their top three grades, and another division for other schools with 350 or fewer students in their top three grades. Morris may face familiar foes in Rosemont, as Coalgate, Preston High School, coached by Jon Robertson, and Vinita will also be attending.

The team comes in with some nationals experience: Natalie Gehring, McKinley McGirt, Ean Merrill, Camrun Scott, and Keyton Tiger-Harjo played the 2023 High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia; Natalie Gehring, McKinley McGirt, Ean Merrill, Camrun Scott, and Keyton Tiger-Harjo played the 2023 Small School National Championship Tournament in Rosemont, Ill. (near Chicago); and Ean Merrill played the 2022 Small School National Championship Tournament in Rosemont, Ill.

Morris High School will send two teams to the 2024 SSNCT. The A team, in the Traditional Public Schools Division, will be captained by Ean Merrill, who will be joined by Natalie Gehring, McKinley McGirt, and Keyton Tiger-Harjo. The B team, in the Traditional Public Schools Division, will be captained by Camrun Scott, who will be joined by Avery Berry, Gage Dixon, and Nicole Gehring. The teams will be coached by Jeremy Avery and Diana Force.

Tournament results will be updated throughout the three days of competition at http://www.naqt.com/go/ stats/14701 so everyone can follow along and see how the team does. You can also follow #ssnct on Twitter.

— National Academic Quiz Tournaments, founded in 1996, organizes the premier middle school, high school, and college quiz bowl championships in North America. In addition to its national championships, NAQT provides questions to invitational tournaments, league championships, and television shows throughout the year. NAQT operates out of the Twin Cities and Kansas City, but its members mentor coaches, host tournaments, volunteer their services and share their expertise across the U.S.