The Ridgefield High School Knowledge Bowl team celebrates their win after a full day of competition. Pictured from left to right are Jonah Kropp, Olivia DesRochers, Micah Ross and Adam Ford.
Coach David Jacobson, team captain Jonah Kropp and team members Micah Ross, Olivia DesRochers and Adam Ford are pictured.
The Ridgefield High School Knowledge Bowl team made a name for themselves over the weekend as they placed third in the National Knowledge Bowl competition.
The student team of four overcame major setbacks to take bronze in their national debut, stated a news release, as they battled technical difficulties and schools with larger and more seasoned rosters.
The third place win for the Ridgefield students far exceeded the team’s expectations.
“We basically went into it just hoping not to be in last place,” team captain Jonah Kropp said.
In the first round of the competition, the team ran into technical difficulties as they competed online in coach David Jacobson’s classroom. They answered six questions, but then the internet connection faltered, making it impossible to proceed. The team rushed to Kropp’s house in a frantic scramble and made it back into the round by question No. 21.
“We still managed to tie for second place in that round,” team member and freshman Adam Ford said.
After the inauspicious start, the team still had a full day of competition and a grueling schedule ahead of them. The written round was followed by six rounds of oral questions. The overall rankings were updated at the conclusion of each round, and Ridgefield’s team could see their score inching higher each time.
By the end of the afternoon, they had reached the championship round as one of the top 2A teams.
“They have one winner for each of the divisions, from 4A down to 1A,” Ford said. “The top three teams from each one goes to the championship round, and we made it.”
With a final round of questions, the Ridgefield team held its own against the other competitors.
“The other teams are all state champions; all the kids there are good,” said Jacobson. “So it was really cool to see our team’s energy, the anticipation and the guessing, pulling answers out of the ether.”
The Ridgefield team found themselves in third place nationally in a very close finish. They were one point away from second place and three points away from first.
“I think it still hasn’t occurred to me how crazy it is,” said team member Micah Ross who is a junior.
Most years, Knowledge Bowl competitions are held in person. Players race to be the first to buzz in with the correct answers to challenging questions. Teams of four students answer questions across a wide range of subjects, either independently or collaboratively.
Jacobson pointed out there was also a shift in questioning from state to national level competition.
“Our team had never seen national level competition before, and it was blistering fast,” Jacobson said. “Within two words of each question, someone had already answered. So our team was a little intimidated.”
The National competition was foreign to every team, because this was the first official year of its existence. According to Jacobson, after advancing past the State Knowledge Bowl tournament, teams usually switched to Quiz Bowl, which has a different format with different questions.
“After the event, we came back to the school to celebrate,” Jacobson said, “We ate cake and other goodies we had here. And what did they do? For the next two hours, they played trivia games. It’s fun for them, and that’s amazing.”
The students believe Jacobson’s constant cheerleading and support were a vital part of making every Knowledge Bowl event a fun experience.
“He is just the best, in terms of making us better, making us study and hyping us up in general,” said sophomore Olivia DesRochers. “He’s so enthusiastic. You can tell that he really, really loves Knowledge Bowl. And that impacts us.”
Kropp will attend college next year, while the rest of the team plans to compete yet again in Knowledge Bowl.
