It was a four-peat for the All Saints Vanguards as they walked away the 2000 V.I. Quiz Bowl Champions Tuesday afternoon having suffered only one loss in the three-day double-elimination tournament. That loss came at the hands of the Antilles Brainstorms, the team All Saints went on to defeat for the championship.
The Vanguards have been the powerhouse in the annual competition for the last decade, losing only twice in that time that one Quiz Bowl follower could recall.
This year's Vanguards comprise captain Michael Turbe, Jelani Nelson, Vijaya Alla, Justin Wheatley, Dennis Jones and Shane Murphy. Their coach is Jose Carrillo, assistant principal at the Episcopal parochial school.
It took an extra 17th game to decide the winner, as both schools finished the final scheduled rounds with one loss. As in years past, the "battle of the brains" was a fierce academic competition between the two long-time high school rivals. This year, for the first time, the event took place at the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort.
All Saints held a slim lead over Antilles at the end of the final scheduled game's first round, trailed by 30 points at the end of the second, then capitalized on the 60-second third round to regain the lead. The final round was a nail-biter down to the last two questions. In the end, the Vanguards emerged with a 30-point lead, securing the championship and the opportunity to represent the territory in national championship play in June at their choice of three mainland venues.
Judges disallowed protests filed by coaches for both schools at the end of the deciding game. With just 30 points separating them, even one allowed protest could have produced a tie, if not an Antilles victory. After Quiz Bowl assistant coordinator Diana Parker announced that the judges had denied them all, the sizable group of All Saints students and parents present for the finals erupted into applause and cheers.
The team will travel to national competition at Loyola University in New Orleans, Marymount University in Washington, D.C., or Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. The national champions will win a trip to any destination in the continental United States.
The Antilles Brainstorms consist of captain Abraham Tarapani, Meagen Jennings, Andrew Luscz, Gerald Rothkolb, Lane Sell and Jasmine Black. Their coach is Alan Eberhart.
In addition to All Saints and Antilles, the high schools participating in this year's Quiz Bowl were Charlotte Amalie, Ivanna Eudora Kean and Sts. Peter and Paul on St. Thomas; and Central, Country Day, Good Hope and St. Joseph's on St. Croix.
The annual Quiz Bowl competition is organized by volunteers under the direction of coordinator Henrietta Warner, a sixth grade teacher at Sibilly School. Parker, the superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Virgin Islands, is assistant coordinator, and Eudora Kean principal Sinclair Wilkinson is the electronic game controller.
The 2000 Quiz Bowl was sponsored by Texaco Caribbean and the local chapters of the American Federation of Teachers, with support from The West Indian Company Ltd., Vitelco and the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort. The games were broadcast live on WVWI / Radio One and recorded by WTJX-TV/Channel 12, the territory's public television station, for broadcast at a later date.
