The Cook County Knowledge Bowl team ready for action at the state meet on April 9. (L-R) Linnea Gesch, Sean MacDonell, Andy Kern and Leif Anderson.
There are 966 teams in the state and only 48 of those teams qualify for the state Knowledge Bowl Tournament. Half of the schools are in the “A” division, made up of small schools and the other half is in the “AA” division consisting of large schools. Cook County High School earned a spot among the top 48.
The event began on April 9 at 7 p.m. with the written round. Varsity Knowledge Bowl Coach April Wahlstrom said, “The kids did a nice job taking the test and they finished in the top half of the 24 teams who qualified for the state tournament. This was a nice place to be in for the beginning of the oral round”
After the first oral round, the Cook County team held its own with a 10th place finish. Coach Wahlstrom said, “Then they had a tough 2nd round and they were bumped down for the 3rd round. This was a bit discouraging for our Vikings.
“Luckily lunch came which allowed them to regroup and come back strong in the 4th oral round which moved them back up. After the last round they finished in 16th place,” she said.
Coach Wahlstrom said she is proud of these Vikings as they are a young team. They were led by junior Sean MacDonell who has attended the state meet four times. Joining him was 8th grader Leif Anderson, the team spokesperson and 9th graders Andy Kern and Linnea Gesch.
Coach Wahlstrom added, “Most of the teams participating at the state meet consisted mostly of seniors and juniors. Our young team did an excellent job and they left with tired minds for the journey home.”
Leave a Reply