Dan Donohue
| Dan "Dan-Don" Donohue | |
| |
| Noted subjects | Literature, Social Studies, Broadway, Harry Potter |
| Current college | Northwestern (2010- ) |
| Past colleges | None |
| High school | Saint Viator (2006-2009) |
| Stats | HDWhite • NAQT |
Dan "Dan-Don" Donohue is a senior at Saint Viator High School in Arlington Heights, a suburb of Chicago. He currently has no team affiliation, but will play for Northwestern in the fall. He also holds the distinction of being the youngest-ever IHSSBCA performance certified moderator. On the hsquizbowl.org forums (and in the quizbowl community at large), Dan goes by "Dan-Don," a nickname given to him by Zahed Haseeb. He writes for NAQT.
Player
Middle School
From 2004 to 2006, Dan captained St. James Jr. High of Arlington Heights to a few top-three finishes at Saint Viator's biannual middle school tournaments. The questions were bad quizbowl, but he was always the team's top scorer.
High School
2006-2008
Dan played only bad quizbowl during his freshman and sophomore years. During this time, he led the Viator frosh/soph team to a couple NMSBL titles and was named to the All-Tournament Teams at the 2007 Carmel Frosh/Soph and the 2008 Kaneland Frosh/Soph. But those weren't good tournaments so they don't really matter.
2008-2009
In the 2008-2009 season, Dan experienced good quizbowl for the first time, even traveling to the 2009 NSC and 2009 HSNCT. At both tournaments he put up less-than-impressive individual stats, wore flashy sunglasses, and placed a talking Montgomery "Scotty" Scott action figure on his desk before each match. The IHSSBCA named Dan to the All-Sectional team in the Stevenson Sectional as part of their All-Sectional/All-State Program.
| Tournament | Individual Placing | Team Placing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 Huskie Bowl | 23rd/109, 25.00 PPG [1] | 5th/20 [2] | HSAPQ ACF-Style #3 |
| Loyburn Classic I | 22nd/67, 22.50 PPG [3] | 8th/12 [4] | HSAPQ NSC-Style #2 |
| 2009 NAQT Illinois State Tournament | 18th/76, 23.93 PPG [5] | 5th/16 [6] | |
| 2009 UIUC Solo | N/A | 12th/24 [7] | BATE mirror. |
| 2009 NSC | 25.00 PPG [8] | 47th/64 [9] | |
| 2009 HSNCT | 198th/1000 [10] | T-58th/192 [11] |
2009-2010
At 2009 ACE Camp, he was a Wildman finalist and Literature finalist at SEMO. In October 2009, a series of disagreements with Saint Viator's head coach and administration left Dan teamless. As a result, he chose to play as a Hobo, sometimes with his former teammates, which culminated in a 39th place solo finish at the 2010 PACE NSC. In March 2010, the IHSSBCA voted him to the Second Class AA All-State Team [12] as part of their IHSSBCA All State Program.
| Tournament | Individual Placing | Team Placing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 UIUC Earlybird [13] | 1st/65, 110.00 PPG [14] | 6th/14 [15] | Played solo as Hobo from Hobo. HSAPQ ACF-Style #8. |
| 2009 THUNDER [16] | 26th/36, 9.55 PPG [17] | 7th/12 [18] | Played as Maureen from Arlington Heights Home for Academics (AHHA) with Andrew Deveau (Tom), Nolan Winkler (Matt), and Marcel Youkhna (David). |
| 2009 ACF Fall Midwest [19] | 6th/89, 61.82 PPG [20] | 12th/24 [21] | Played as Scarecrow from Federal Union of Catholic Kids (FUCK) with former teammates Ryan Gilmore (Lion), Jack Nuelle (Tinman), and Eddie Zahrebelski (Dorothy). |
| 2010 Huskie Bowl [22] | 1st/51, 75.45 PPG[23] | 7th/12 [24] | Played solo as Hobo from Hobo. Mirror of 2010 Prison Bowl. |
| Wildcat XII [25] | 6th/57, 80.00 PPG [26] | 6th/14 [27] | Played as Father from Hobo with former teammates Ryan Gilmore (Son) and Jack Nuelle (Holy Spirit). HSAPQ ACF-Style #11. |
| 2010 UIUC Solo [28] | N/A | 8th/24 [29] | Mirror of 2010 NAREN. |
| 2010 MCMNT[30] | 14th/33, 34.17 PPG [31] | 3rd/14 [32] | Played as Valencia from the Charles Hang School for College Players Who Club Baby Seals with Loyola Academy's Nolan Winkler and OPRF's Ben Carbery. |
| 2010 ATROPHY [33] | 6th/45, 52.73 [34] | 8th/12 [35] | Played on Hobo with former teammates Ryan Gilmore, Jack Nuelle, and Richard Hutyra. Mirror of 2010 GSAC. |
| 2010 QUALM-FREE [36] | 1st/39, 120.00 PPG [37] | 4th/11 [38] | Played solo as Hobo from Hobo. Some question as to whether he came in third or fourth [39]. Mirror of 2010 Ben Cooper Memorial. |
| 2010 Midwest Championship [40] | 2nd/45, 57.69 PP20TH [41] | 9th/11 [42] | Mirror of 2010 NAQT DII SCT set. |
| 2010 NSC | 7th/264, 110.00 PPG [43] | 39th/64 | Played solo. |
Writer and Editor
Middle School
Dan used to do the bulk of the writing and all of the editing for Viator's biannual Junior High Tournament, which used to be IHSA-format but, thanks to Dan, is now mACF.
High School
He wrote Literature, Fine Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Miscellaneous questions for the 2009 Varsity tournament at Richland. He also wrote and edited U.S. Literature, World Literature, U.S. History, and Social Science for ANTACID, the 2009 incarnation of New Trier Varsity. He is also employed as a writer by NAQT.
Side Events
With Jeff Geringer, he cowrote, coedited, and codirected Trashtastrophe, an all-Trash doubles tournament (the first of its kind in Illnois) that was hosted by Loyola Academy on October 17th, 2009 following the conclusion of their Ultima tournament. Dan also contributed to Trashtwostrophe, a similar event played following the conclusion of NIU's 2010 Huskie Bowl.
Dan cowrote and served as head editor for VIOLATEDD (Very Intellectual Open Lit Affair Totally Edited by Dan-Don), an all-literature singles set (also the first of its kind in Illinois) that was played after the conclusion of the 2009 New Trier Varsity and was mirrored at Clemson's 2010 Weekend of Quizbowl, among other places.
TD and Moderator
On September 26th, 2009, Dan earned praise for directing The Septemberist, Saint Viator's junior varsity tournament and mirror of the Fall Novice Set.
Dan's current situation means that he often makes it to tournaments only as a moderator. Dan, the youngest-ever IHSSBCA performance-certified moderator, can be seen around Illinois moderating tournaments on a near-weekendly basis.