After securing the title of state champions, McLean’s scholastic quiz bowl team hopes to carry their momentum to the national tournament. Nationals will take place over Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, and the team is optimistic about their chances this year.

“You can’t help but feel good after winning the state tournament, but you go up against a lot of really difficult teams from all across the nation [in nationals],” quiz bowl teacher sponsor Jeffrey Brocketti said. “We always put forth a good showing, and I’m sure we’ll do that again this year, but it’s a tough competition.”

Around 300 teams from across the country will be traveling to Atlanta for the tournament, with preliminaries taking place on Saturday followed by playoffs on Sunday afternoon.

“You have ten preliminary rounds, and then based on how you perform in those you either advance to the playoffs or you advance to a constellation [bracket],” Brocketti said. “Once you get to the playoffs, it’s double elimination for most teams.”

Each nationals match will consist of two nine minute halves, with a brief halftime in the middle for teams to substitute players. With quick 20 minute games, the tournament runs efficiently and ensures that every question counts.

“You never know how things are going to go,” Brocketti said. “Sometimes you’re playing a team you should beat, [but] you get questions you’re not good at and you lose the match.”

To prevent this from happening, the quiz bowl team is practicing hard in the weeks leading up to nationals. If they don’t know the topic of a question, they might briefly research it after practice or use other methods to increase the amount of questions they get right. This dedication will help them place well at nationals.

“Nationals is a really great experience because you get to play against people from all over the country,” senior captain Clara Marks said. “Last year, the B team missed advancing in the tournament by one question, so we’re hoping to do better this year.”

With positive spirits, hours of practice and high hopes from their recent victory, the quiz bowl team is looking to finish their season strong.

“I would assume we’re going to do better [than last year],” Brocketti said. “That’s the goal: finish top 50 and hopefully get better every single year.”