Gunston Team Excels at National Academic Quiz Championships

L-R: Andrew Amygdalos, Henry Shifrin, Sam Umidi, Annie Bamford, Headmaster John Lewis, Phin Howell, Zack Anderson, and Aeropl Bai.

For the third straight year, Gunston’s Academic Quiz Bowl Team qualified for the NAQT National Academic Team Championships in Chicago, Illinois. Competing against the top 72 teams in the country, Gunston finished 39th, missing the playoff round by a single game. The team participated in 10 competitive rounds, answering questions from all areas of knowledge, including history, literature, science, fine arts, current events, popular culture, sports, and more. Many former NAQT competitors become Jeopardy! champions, and before the tournament began, the Gunston team had the chance to scrimmage against former Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions competitor Ben Ingram.

Gunston was led by junior Andrew Amygdalos (Dover), who was the 29th overall scorer (top 8%) out of nearly 350 competitors. Also competing were Annie Bamford (Chestertown), Phineas Howell (Chestertown), Henry Shifrin (Chestertown), Aeropl Bai (Easton), Zack Anderson (Easton), and Samuel Umidi (Annapolis). “The competition at this tournament was incredibly tough,” shared Gunston Headmaster and coach, John Lewis. “The team excelled this year, and I expect we’ll be back once again next year.”