BHS Knowledge Bowl captures 3rd in Nation after taking 2nd at State

On Saturday, April 22, while the majority of BHS students were enjoying their weekend away from school, Buffalo’s top Knowledge Bowl team, Varsity 1, was at school competing in a virtual national competition. At the end of the battle against 29 of the country’s top Knowledge Bowl teams, Buffalo took 3rd overall.

Before Nationals, Varsity 1, consisting of seniors Ryder Zvorak, Amelia Butler, Avery Thompson, Matthew Scherber, and Milo Zimmermann, competed at the State competition for the second year at Cragun’s resort against 71 other teams. The previous year Buffalo got 1st place, this year Buffalo took home the 2nd place trophy.

“I had decided for myself that we had already won once, so I didn’t need to do it again. I was just happy to be [at state] with [my team] and have fun,” said Butler.

Varsity 1 earned the exact number of points that won state last year, yet this year it wasn’t the winning total.

“It wasn’t easy to get second place,” said Scherber. “It was easier to take the loss knowing the competition was so good. We can be proud knowing that we had the potential to do really well and did do really well.”

Knowledge Bowl success does not come without team compatibility. The team has been competing together for two years, which allowed them to know each other’s strengths. Each team member has different areas of knowledge, all of which promote success.

In addition, Varsity 1 tries to keep a positive team environment to avoid conflict while competing.

“One thing that we don’t do that a lot of other people do is the blame game,” said Thompson. “I think that keeps us away from a really negative team dynamic.”

Besides having an outstanding season and record, the team of seniors marks the first Buffalo team ever to make an appearance at the National Knowledge Bowl meet.