Placing sixth in the playoffs for the MNHS Quiz Bowl league at Burnsville High School on Feb. 19, the St. Paul Academy and Summit School Quiz Bowl team surpassed their previous record of 13 from last season. Only the top four teams in each division qualified for playoffs, and all 16 teams competing also qualified for the 2015 NAQT High School National Championship on May 29-31 in Chicago. Some of the playoff games were taped and televised by the Burnsville Community Television, including the Spartans.

The Spartans won two out of a total of four games, making it to the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

“Our team is pretty proud of our season so far, we’ve done a lot better this year than last season,” sophomore Quiz Bowl member Sarah Wheaton said. “We did a lot better at the playoffs than we expected, which shows how much we’ve improved from last season.”

Wheaton enjoyed the fast paced atmosphere of the playoffs, in which all teams could feel the heightened pressure of the event.

“It was super competitive; people were buzzing much faster than normal to answer the questions,” Wheaton said.

Growing in popularity in the United States, Quiz Bowl is a competitive activity that pits two teams of four students against each other to see who can answer the most questions in a limited amount of time. Questions are drawn from popular culture, current affairs, and the standard academic curriculum, and aim to reflect knowledge that an educated person should possess.

“The questions are pretty varied; they ask about everything from science and math to pop culture,” Wheaton said.

The team will participate in the Run for the Roses tournament on Feb. 21 at Roseville High School, and will continue to train for nationals at the end of the season.