By Ryan Wilson, Assistant Editor
It has taken a little luck, lumberjack-style uniforms, a touchy buzzer system, and especially time, dedication and hard work for LLCC’s Quiz Bowl Team to become one of the best quiz bowl teams in the nation.
Lincoln Land Community College’s Quiz Bowl Team has been sounding its Jeopardy!-like buzzers for only three years, but it has reached the National Community College Championship Tournament every year.
“There is a certain amount of strategy once you get pretty good at this. … The team is good enough now we’re really looking at strategy,” says Eve Fischberg, the coach/adviser of the team and a professor in Lincoln Land’s Occupational Therapy Assistant Program. “You’ve got to be on the buzzer … so you can get it [the answer] before the other team.”
If the Loggers notice an opponent is performing really well and correctly answering the questions faster, they counter by applying one of two tactics: (1) “You just lean back and watch the show,” jokingly said Clark Johnson, the lieutenant captain of LLCC’s Quiz Bowl Team, or (2) attempt to answer the question without knowing the answer to throw the opponent off. They all agree the latter strategy is much more effective.
From challenging questions ranging from math all the way to pop culture, each team member studies on his or her own to expand his or her already big knowledge base.
“It (the amount of time spent studying outside of school) all depends on the individual and how much effort you want to put forward,”said Johnson.“If you put forward a lot of effort, you get a lot of reward.”
The Loggers’ Quiz Bowl Team also reviews numerous questions and answers at its practices, which are held twice a week.
In a college quiz bowl match, two teams are asked lengthy trivia questions on a variety of topics in a Jeopardy!-style format. The teams race to see who can answer the question the quickest. In an average match, the competitors are given a total of 20 minutes to answer 20 toss-up questions.
To increase LLCC’s chances of winning, each team member specializes in one or more areas of study such as chemistry, mythology or math, depending on one’s interests. For instance, Johnson mentioned he is “pretty kick-rear” in American History.
Brett Davis, the captain of the Loggers’ Quiz Bowl Team, is considered “the jack of all trades,” according to the lieutenant captain, as he specializes in geography, history and the social sciences, while sophomore Samuel Woolsey is stronger in the science and math areas. Allie Penrod, a freshman at Lincoln Land, has significant knowledge regarding questions on the visual arts and the Bible.
LLCC’s Quiz Bowl Team members, who wear flannel shirts as uniforms during matches, have struggled over the years to conquer the tough questions about classical music, and more importantly, literature.
“We just unfortunately have not come across any English majors in the past three years. … We haven’t been very fruitful in our recruitment in that aspect,” said Davis, who excelled at scholastic bowl at Auburn High School.
Johnson, on the other hand, said he is studying up on literature and has noticed some improvements.
“You cannot learn enough literature in a month,” he jokingly clarified.
Overall, though, the Loggers Quiz Bowl Team jointly feels it is better than last year’s team, which reached the National Community College Championship Tournament.
According to Davis, last year’s team consisted of all new members.
“Last year was a complete start over,” he said.
“We [Samuel Woolsey, Clark Johnson and I] were able to build the team up, and we’re much improved from last year.”
After this year, several key players from LLCC’s Quiz Bowl Team will be graduating, and the team is searching for possible replacements.
“Next year, Clark, Sam and I will be gone and yet the people who are retaining still don’t know the literature or classical music,” said Davis.
“We’re still looking for classical music and literature people.”
Davis, Woolsey, Penrod, and Lauren Gleason make up the Loggers ‘A’ Team, with Johnson, Jacob Webb, Nick Shelton, and Tyler Matthews rounding out the ‘B’ Team this year.
The Loggers’ ‘A’ Team qualified for this year’s National Community College Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Ga., after winning all nine matches in the sectional tournament.
In its first year of competing, the team reached the National Academic Quiz Tournaments’ Division II Collegiate Championship, which included teams from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
“This is quite a big deal for us,” said Davis. “We are studying as much as we can.”
Update: LLCC finished 10th at Nationals. Brett Davis finished 12th in individual toss-ups. Ryan Wilson can be reached at [email protected] or 217-786-2311. This was published in the April 9 edition of The Lamp.