Thatis the motto of the Knowledge Bowl program and both the Cook County Middle School and Junior Varsity Knowledge Bowl teams appear to live by that motto. Both teams fared well in the challenging and thought-provoking competitions at the Northeast Service Cooperative in Mountain Iron, MN.
Middle School finishes 4th
Entering the final tournament, the Middle School team, after three tough meets, was ranked No. 1 of all the teams participating, ahead of all the others by 10 points. The top 24 Knowledge Bowl teams in the state advance to the finals.
The Middle School team—Lars Scannell, Daniel Ahrendt, Libby Zafft, Danielle Hansen, Sean MacDonell, and Will Seaton—met stiff opposition in the first round of the tournament.
However, Middle School Coach Dorie Carlson said they fought hard and were back in third place by the final round. They finished fourth, just a half-point away from third and one point away from second. A very good finish, especially considering there were 48 teams participating.
“This team has worked very hard,” said Carlson. “They practiced during lunch one day a week and during the ride to meets, they spent a solid two hours practicing. They worked hard together.”
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Carlson added, “Their strengths were in their large general knowledge and their ability to anticipate the questions. They were great representatives of Cook County.”
JV team finishes strong
Thejunior varsity team also entered the final Knowledge Bowl tournament ranked No. 1 after a number of first place finishes. In fact, the Cook County team was so formidable, Coaches April Wahlstrom and T.J. Super heard from another coach that his team didn’t want to come “because Cook County will ‘whomp’ us anyway.”
Wahlstrom said the first few rounds were a little disappointing for the team, but they rallied and moved up to first place for two rounds. In the fourth and final round they were upset by International Falls and Virginia by just a few points, placing in third at the finish.
“Despite the upset, the kids were pretty excited and looking ahead to future seasons,” said Wahlstrom. “With a dedicated group of kids, this team should be exciting and should be one that will contend for regional titles in upcoming years!”
The Knowledge Bowl coaches expressed appreciation to Cook County Education Association, Grand Marais Lioness Club, and Arrowhead Electric Cooperative for much needed support.
Dorie Carlson added, “Watch for our Senior High Team starting in Januar y.”
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