Scholastic Bowl Season Off to a Great Start

Parker’s Upper School Scholastic Bowl season is off to an amazing start, as the team has reached new heights in each of its first two tournaments of the year. 

On November 4, a group of nine freshmen and sophomores traveled to Lincoln-Way East to participate in the annual Novice Tournament. The field consisted of 28 teams from 17 schools. The A team (freshmen Jack Bartlett and sophomores Daniel Chang, Darius Cleaver and Chase Wayland) went undefeated in morning round-robin play, then won its playoff group with a 2-1 record before knocking off the home team from Lincoln-Way East 425-305 to claim Parker’s first-ever championship trophy at this event. Meanwhile, the B team (sophomores Helen Aklilu, Ben Israel and Eric Maset and freshmen Naomi Pendo and John Swanson) had a strong showing, finishing in 18th place with a 4-4 record.

On November 18, the team competed in its first open invitational of the year, sending two teams to the Kickoff Tournament at Homewood-Flossmoor. The field consisted of 70 teams from 27 schools, including several of the top 20 programs in the state. The A team (seniors Grant Koh and Warner Vance, juniors Annoshae Mirza and Beckett Nikitas and sophomore Chase Wayland) edged Waubonsie Valley to clinch its morning pool and the 1-seed in the playoffs. They finished 2-1 in the playoffs, but won their pool on the strength of a points-per-game tiebreaker after a 520-180 victory over previously undefeated Fremd C. They ended the day with a hard-fought 405-335 loss to Fremd A to finish the day in second place, Parker’s best ever finish at this event. Koh made the all-tournament team as the sixth-highest-scoring individual. The B team (freshmen Jack Bartlett and sophomores Daniel Chang, Spencer Koh and Nash Oliphant) was one of a handful of JV teams placed in the Varsity division due to its reputation of strong play. Playing against almost exclusively A teams, the group ended the day placing 30th of 70 teams.

Join us in congratulating this team on all of their hard work and success so far this season!