A team of eighth-grade students from Independence Middle School recently participated for the first time in the 13th annual Saint Ignatius High School Brain Brawl academic competition. The team was made up of Dylan Volk, Thomas Graham, Sam Carusso, Nick Spencer, Abbey Cottrell, Adriana Randjelovic, Caris Carmean, and Penny McGurr.
The students practiced for the Jeopardy-style competition twice a week leading up to the event, answering trivia questions and enjoying some morning doughnuts with their teacher advisor, Ken DeAngelis.
On the day of the tournament, 32 teams competed (30 private and 2 public), with the Independence Middle School team placed in a pool against five other schools. After round robin play, Independence emerged with a 4-1 record, only losing to last year's champions.
The top eight teams advanced to a single elimination bracket. Independence won their quarterfinal and semifinal matches to reach the championship finals. They were tied heading into the final round but ultimately finished as runners-up, losing by just four points.
The competition featured trivia rounds on various academic subjects as well as speed rounds. Students were able to substitute players between rounds. All matches were timed.
The Independence Middle School Brain Brawl team and advisor were thrilled with their impressive debut performance. The school looks forward to returning and challenging for the title next year.