By ANTHONY BOTTAN
–– a quiz show that pits students from Nassau and Suffolk county schools, as well as the tri-state area, against one another to battle for intellectual supremacy... and $10,000. Last year, Central High School was bounced in the first round against Syosset, but North faired much better in their first round matchup, defeating Carle Place in a tie-breaker last Saturday. North’s team advanced to the second round, which will be played sometime in late February.
North’s team was composed of sophomore Sarah Craig and juniors Nicole Bardabelias, Brandon Lee, Mohammad Qadri and Corben Crew. The team was selected and prepped by special education teacher, Holli Bombardier. North took a hefty lead into the final round, but Carle Place stormed back to tie the score at 270. Luckily, the tie breaker question –– How many strings are on a cello? ––- was right up Lee’s alley. He plays the cello in the school band.
“We were a pretty balanced team,” Bardabelias said. “We just had to keep our composure.”
Bombardier said the team met once a week to practice, and usually played Trivial Pursuit to sharpen their skills. In addition to that, she said, the team would watch prior shows to see what kind of questions were asked, which helped determine what subjects the students were weaker in.
Craig said she was a little nervous going into the quiz show, considering that before the team went on-air, they were placed in a tiny green room to wait, with their challengers, Carle Place. “It was a little intimidating,” she said.
Since the Carle Place team was mostly comprised of seniors, Lee said he thought Carle Place had a slight advantage over North. “They had more experience than us, so I was definitely a little scared,” Lee said. “But we expected it to be challenging.” Lee added that he can’t wait to take on their Round 2 opponent –– which has not yet been determined –– for more than just the glory of beating another school. “I’m looking forward to missing another day of school!” he said.
Crew, who volunteered to be an alternate in North’s first round matchup, will step in for Craig in the second round. Crew said that he was upset he chose to be an alternate in the first round because the questions the team got wrong were from some of his strongest subjects. “A lot of the questions varied,” Crew said. “But some of them were super easy.” He added that for the team’s second round match up, they need to be more composed and more aggressive in answering questions.
The team members will continue to sharpen their skills at the Quiz Bowls that South High School hosts every few months. It’s good practice, Bombardier said, especially since seven other nearby schools compete in South’s Quiz Bowl.
The team’s confidence is slowly growing, and Principal Clifford Odell said he was very proud of how well his students faired in the competition. “It’s very impressive to say the least,” Odell said.
After beating a group of seniors from Carle Place, the team feels that they are up to any challenge. “The fact that we beat seniors...now are confidence is definitely growing,” Bardabelias said.
