Nationals Week Review/ Finals Preview by David Poston

I can’t think of a week that I enjoy each year more than this one! I get to see scores of friends who live far from me. I get to take 5 days away from the hectic routine which my life normally follows. I get to play basketball (and tennis and racquetball…yes racquetball-the New Yorkers promise it’s good. I’ll let you know.) Let’s see. What am I forgetting? Oh yeah, BIBLE QUIZ!!!

I love Bible Quiz. And in the world of Bible Quiz, there’s no bigger week than Nationals week.

Monday, Scqanit kicked off Nationals week with a bang. As discussed previously on this site, you can’t find a tournament with a more impressive lineup of teams. While Nationals is held in the highest esteem by most, Scqanit quietly seizes its opportunity to host the most competitive field of the year! Some have debated that Scqanit should carry as much or possibly more importance than Nationals. But most teams which are able to quiz at nationals continue to treat the AACS tournament as the pinnacle of Bible Quiz.

Having said that, The AACS national tournament has seen its number of teams decrease from previous years. If this trend continues, we may very well see Scqanit push AACS Nationals for the top tournament.

As evidence of just how competitive Scqanit was this year- Heritage Mission (NY) (who scored the most points of any team at Nationals on Tuesday) finished 12th Monday. While I believe it is obvious that Scqanit is not 9-10 quality teams better than Nationals (as New York’s finish would imply), it was certainly 2 to 3 quality teams deeper. Hillsdale (fl) and Faith SC, both non-AACS participants, improved the Scqanit field. Their 3rd and 1st finish respectively caused many of the AACS participants to have a better finish at Nationals than at Scqanit. Of all the teams participating in both tournaments, Only Woodside (CO) fared better at Scqanit than Nationals (Note: If Old Paths (PA) finishes third Thursday at the Nationals finals, they also would have fared better at Scqanit)

*- 3 teams exited the tournament in the same round.

After bursting onto the National scene last year with a surprising second place showing at Nationals, Mukwonago WI showed staying power by placing 4th this year. While no one can figure out what caused Heritage Mission to struggle so greatly at Scqanit, Mukwonago visibly struggled with their first experience of having a new question on tossups. Their impressive run at Tuesday’s competition left them one quiz short of making the finals. They were eliminated in the day’s final quiz.

Pleasant View KY cracked the top 5, but ran out of gas and saw their run of 3 consecutive championships come to an end. Unfortunately for that ministry, vehicle problems put them behind the 8 ball before their week even began. 2009 marks the 5th straight year that Pleasant View has finished in the top 5.

While Woodside was seeking to return to the AACS finals for the first time since they won the National Championship in 2004, their strong showing ended just short. The future is bright for Woodside as new quizzer Erica Olson was Scqanit’s 2nd best quizzer. If another returning quizzer steps up next year, Woodside could be very good very fast!

As for the teams participating in the finals Thursday:
After such a disappointing start to the week for Heritage Mission, they regrouped and returned to their usual stellar form Tuesday. They jumped out to a solid start and weren’t really challenged till later in the afternoon. Surviving a couple close quizzes late in the day, they now enter Thursday with no losses. Heritage Mission boasts the deepest team in the tournament. Not to mention: the deepest coaching staff!

Calvary FL, who already entered the week with a small team of 4 quizzers, seemingly took a huge blow when Scqanit top 25 quizzer Paige Warren didn’t quiz. However, David Tyrrell stepped up in several of their quizzes to lead the team to victory. In a couple of less than stellar performances from David, Kelsey Davies provided enough depth to keep Florida from getting their first lost. They’ll join Heritage Mission as teams with no losses.

A Nationals mainstay for years, Old Paths, returned from a one year absence with flying colors. After having a less than stellar 2008 season, first year head coach Matthew Keenan could see his team garner our #1 ranking if he can lead his team to a National Championship Thursday. While the champion has yet to be determined, one thing is sure: Thursday at 3:30 will be the most exciting afternoon of the quiz year!

David P