Pictured above: Columbia River High School’s JV and varsity Knowledge Bowl teams after a competition held earlier in 2020, before schools closed.

Question: Who won the regional Knowledge Bowl championships in their division earlier this spring and went on to become the only West Coast qualifier for the 38th annual National Academic Championships?

Answer: The Columbia River High School Knowledge Bowl team!

The team was headed to the Washington state finals in March. After Washington schools closed, the finals were canceled.

Many of the team members are graduating seniors, however, and were not interested in ending their season early. “They very much wanted to have this opportunity to compete before they left high school,” explained coach Dave Douglas.

Team members include seniors Abby Kinney (team captain), Claire Scott, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Elizabeth Prater, Erin Marble and Jayden Murphy, as well as juniors Andrew Douglas, Bridgett and Jillian Allmain.

Determined to have one more opportunity, the students researched and applied for the National Academic Championships. In April, they placed among the top 10 in the nation and earned a spot in the virtual competition that tested them in five subject areas: math, literature, science, geography and history.

River’s team competed May 23 and 25 against mostly private schools. In the preliminary round, the team prevailed in three of their six matches, just one win shy of the number required to move on to the next round.

Congratulations to the Columbia River Knowledge Bowl team on their regional victory and qualification for the national competition!

Watch team members compete in a scrimmage.