Editor’s note: This reporting is from Scholastic Bowl Coach Brian Bartoz.
Morrison High School’s Scholastic Bowl team competed in the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl State Tournament, in Bloomington, IL, on Saturday, March 2, 2024. The team advanced to the State Tournament following its first-place finish in the Masonic Sectional Tournament at Prophetstown High School on Saturday, February 17.
Members are Caden Bielema, Anna Blevins, Captain Nara Hardesty, Violet Mills, and Blaine Williams.
MHS finished with two victories and two losses in pool play in Class 1A matches, with an additional loss in a cross-pool match against Goreville High School. Although the team did not reach its goal of advancing to the afternoon, Championship-level matches, team members had a chance to test their academic mettle against some of the best Class 1A Scholastic Bowl teams in Illinois. The matches–which include five sections of tossup questions and teamwork questions per match–are described below.
Round 1: Metro-East Lutheran High School (Edwardsville) vs. Morrison High School (310-90)
Metro-East High School, the winner of the 2023 Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl in Class 1A, dominated the match from the start. Their team demonstrated an impressive grasp of content across the major subject areas, including history, current events, Earth science, physics, advanced math, literature, and related fields. Correct answers offered by Metro-East: “Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov” (in response to a question about a composer); “A Clockwork Orange” (in response to a question about a novel); “factorial” (in response to a question about mathematical functions); “benzene” (regarding a science question); “Richard I” (regarding a question about English kings.) Morrison lost the match by a score of 310-90. Metro-East ultimately achieved a first-place finish in the Class 1A Tournament.
Round 2: Blue Ridge High School vs. Morrison High School (160-140)
Following a tough loss in Round 1, Morrison bounced back in a competitive match in Round 2. They were tied with Blue Ridge after the first section of the round, but Blue Ridge built up a 30-point lead by the end of the second section. Some correct answers offered by Morrison: “mechanical engineering” (regarding a question about categories of engineering); “z” (regarding a question about the third axis in three dimensions); “Chechnya” (regarding terror attacks in North Ossetia, Russia.) Morrison also answered all questions about a novel that developed the concept of “fair witness” and “grok;” the book is “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Blue Ridge ultimately won the match by a 20-point margin (160-140.)
Round 3: Goreville High School vs. Morrison High School (250-100) (cross-pool match)
Goreville High School, located in rural Goreville in southern Illinois, performed capably throughout the day on Saturday. They demonstrated a solid grasp of the content across all academic subjects and won their match against Morrison, by a score of 250-100. In the third section of the match, Goreville correctly answered five questions in a row, by providing the following answers: National Public Radio; closed (regarding mathematical sets); Sitting Bull (a Lakota leader); Arthur Waugh (an author); buoyancy. Goreville advanced to the Championship level matches and ultimately finished second in the Class 1A Tournament.
Round 4: Morrison High School vs. Pecatonica (150-140)
Morrison performed well in Round 4, with strong performances from multiple players. Pecatonica had a 10-0 record in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference (NUIC) as of late January 2024. They delivered a solid performance. The teams were so evenly matched that the scores were equal after the first section (20-20); the second section (80-80); the third section (100-100.) Captain Hardesty offered correct answers to all three parts of Question #12 regarding “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque, which was Morrison’s strongest performance on a teamwork question in Round 4. Morrison pulled ahead in the fourth section (130-120), but Pecatonica answered two questions correctly to tie the score 140-140, after the fifth section of the round. The Moderator turned to tie-breaker questions in a sudden-death round, to determine which team would ultimately prevail in a match that featured two teams near the top of their respective Conferences in Northwest Illinois. MHS Junior Blaine Williams offered a correct answer of “Brazil” on the first tie-breaker question to secure the win for Morrison. Cheers and applause erupted following Morrison’s victory in the match! The win provided a valuable morale booster, in a day of tough competition among other teams that won their Sectional matches.
Round 5: Morrison High School vs. Woodlawn High School (190-70)
Morrison delivered its best performance of the day in its match against Woodlawn High School. Woodlawn answered first in the first section of the match, but Morrison built a small lead (30-10) after the first six questions. In the second section, Morrison continued to excel, leading Woodlawn by a score of 110-50. In a science question about bronchitis, Morrison offered the following correct answers: emphysema, alveoli, and pneumothorax (the term for a collapsed lung.) By the end of the fourth section, Morrison led 190-60. Woodlawn earned 10 more points on the final question of the match, but Morrison’s lead allowed the team to secure the win by a score of 190-70.
Morrison finished the day with a 2-2 record in pool play and a 2-3 overall record. In 2019 and 2020, Morrison also achieved a 2-3 overall record in competitive matches with some of the best small-school teams in Illinois.
“I would like to thank Morrison Community Unit School District #6 for its support for our program,” Scholastic Bowl Coach Brian Bartoz said. “I’d also like to recognize Dunlap Masonic Lodge #321 for paying the team’s $150 entry fee to compete in the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl. ’I’d like to thank Tournament Director Herman Albers and the members and staff at the Grand Lodge, for their outstanding work organizing the State Tournament each year.”
“Many thanks to Treasurer Mark Ottens from Dunlap Masonic Lodge #321, for making the trek to Bloomington on Saturday to see our team compete,” Bartoz said. “Thank you, as well, to the parents and relatives who offered encouragement and, in some cases, traveled to Bloomington to view the matches.
“I would also like to thank Morrison’s Student Council, Principal David Mills, and Athletic Director Gregg Dolan for a fantastic send-off ceremony on Friday, March 1,” Bartoz said.
Morrison’s team received a $100 check from the Grand Lodge for its participation in the State Tournament. Funds will be allocated to the Scholastic Bowl account for future purchases of equipment (such as buzzer system components) and study materials.
Class 1A Winners
State Champion: Metro-East Lutheran High School (Edwardsville)
State 2nd Place: Goreville High School
State 3rd Place: Cumberland High School
State 4th Place: Blue Ridge High School (Farmer City.)