|
Area teams take Knowledge Bowl honors
Staff Writer Brainerd High School swept the Region 5 Knowledge Bowl Tournament Wednesday at the Staples campus of Central Lakes College as two BHS teams finished with first- and second-place victories.
Both BHS teams qualified for the state tournament, as did a team from Staples-Motley High School, which took third place, and another from Little Falls High School, which placed fourth. There are 73 Knowledge Bowl teams in the region with nine of those teams qualifying to compete at the regional tournament Wednesday. BHS has seven Knowledge Bowl teams; two of them qualified for regionals.
Craig Rezac, who co-coaches the Brainerd teams with Dave Pritschet, said this was the first time that two Brainerd teams placed first and second at regions, earning trips to state. The 2006 Minnesota Service Cooperative Knowledge Bowl state competition will take place April 25-26 at Cragun's Conference and Golf Resort in East Gull Lake.
The BHS team ranked first in regions includes seniors Jason Houle, Josh Holbrook, Josh Mattson, John Valesano and junior Max Kuehn. The second place team includes BHS juniors Kara Richard, Logan Mohs, Sam Walker, James Voelker and senior Taylor Stevenson.
The Staples-Motley Knowledge Bowl team includes seniors Steve Andrie, Nathan Roth, Andrew Paskewitz, Jared Hoffert and Jacob Fink. Their coach is Becky Hasselberg.
The Little Falls Knowledge Bowl team includes seniors Brianne Daniels, Rachael Dalquist, Amber Warren, Danielle Fenske, Aaron Greene and junior Lad Fisk. Little Falls has five varsity level teams and two ninth-grade teams. Little Falls coaches are Ron Hinnenkamp and Mike Huck.
The No. 1 Brainerd team placed in the top three at every invitational it competed in this year, said Rezac.
Rezac attributed the success of both BHS teams to the dedication of the students, who have been taking rigorous Advanced Placement courses that prepared them well for Knowledge Bowl. He said the second team is made up mostly of juniors, who will likely go on to do well next year.
The junior high Knowledge Bowl program also serves as a feeder program for the high school team, which Rezac said has played a major role in its success.
"We've never had two teams of this caliber," said Rezac. "They're both very solid."
Rezac said the highest finish Brainerd has had at a state tournament was fifth, which was about a decade ago. Rezac said their goal this year is to place in the top five teams.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
|
Overcast, 61°
