After an incredible season, Wichita Collegiate’s Scholars Bowl finished strong by taking their eighth consecutive State title! A bonafide powerhouse, the Spartans won all 10 of their matches with ease. In addition to the fact that they are in the middle of a dynastic run, it is also the 20th overall State Scholars Bowl title in the history of the school.
After scoring 90 or more points in four of their first five matches to win the Gold pool, the Spartans carried that same level of domination into the finals round. Collegiate went on to win its final five matches by an average of 83 points to take the title. Southeast of Saline, 4-1 in the finals round, finished second and Prairie View (3-2) was third.
Leading Collegiate was sophomore Ethan MacKenzie. Despite being the youngest member of the State Championship team, he scored 365 points in the tournament and correctly answered on 15 of 16 interruptions to lead Collegiate. Rounding out this impressive squad were seniors Conner Schupbach, Paul Mines and Rahul Madhavan, and juniors Hannah Ternes and Shouvik Dev.
The regional tournament proved to be the toughest test for the Spartans yet. Two of their top players were out with illness and as a result the Spartans took second to Hesston at the Class 3A regional at Bluestem. The 2nd place finish came despite losses to Hesston and Halstead in the round-robin finals. However, with a healthy and intact roster at the state tournament, they flourished.
“The week of the regional tournament was undoubtedly the most challenging that I’ve faced in 11 seasons,” Collegiate coach Peter DeVries said. “Our roster was ravaged by the flu and some team members missed the entire week. We were very fortunate to have survived a highly talented regional.”
In addition to the State title, Collegiate’s season included seven regular-season tournament titles, including its fourth straight victory at Bishop Carroll’s Tournament of Champions. They were the first team in the history of this stacked tournament to take the traveling trophy four years in a row. Last season, the Collegiate squad tied the previously held record of a three-peat, which had also been achieved by Wichita East (2009, 2010, 2011). Senior Conner Schupbach is the only player in Kansas history who has played on 4 TOC Championship Teams. This year’s field included Class 6A Champion Wichita East and 6A Runner-Up Wichita Northwest, 5A Champion Kapaun and Runner-Up Carroll, and 2A Runner-Up Wichita Independent.
Congratulations on another stellar season, Spartans!