J.P. Stevens
| J.P. Stevens High School | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Edison, NJ | |
| Club Presidents | Kushal Aluru |
| Coaches | Jeff Xie |
| National Championships | none |
| National Appearances | 31st place 2021 HSNCT, 24st place 2021 NHBB, 24th place 2019 NHBB |
| Program Status | Active |
| School Size | 2600 |
| NAQT Page | link |
John P. Stevens High School is a public high school in Edison, New Jersey. Its quiz bowl team, formerly known as the STARS, competes at the regional, state, and national levels.
History
The Rutgers Academic Challenge Years
The team was originally known as the Rutgers Academic Challenge team.
The STARS Years
At around the end of the 2006 academic school year, the JPS team was named STARS. The team name stands for "Stevens' Tough and Rough Scholars".
2006-2007
This year began with the STARS appearing in the 2006-2007 season of The New Jersey Challenge. After defeating Wayne Valley High School, the STARS then lost to Bergen County Academies.
Later, the STARS took part in the NAQT at Rutgers. Despite undermanned to a point where they were unable to have a full team, the STARS managed to win 4 of 12 games.
Finally that year, the STARS sent two teams to take part in BRITE. However, after both teams advanced to the Top 16 after the playoffs, they were matched up against each other in the next game. The winning team advanced to the quarterfinals where they were defeated by North Brunswick High School.
2007-2008
The STARS participated in the NAQT at Princeton. However, they were quite soundly defeated and were unable to advance past the playoffs.
Later, they once again took part in BRITE. The STARS once again managed to make the Top 16 before getting eliminated.
Revival
2012-2015
In 2012, J.P. Stevens Quiz Bowl was revived. Featuring players like future Jeopardy Teen Tournament Champion Jeff Xie and Team Captains Andy Shi and Vishal Baloor, the team played at The Eleventh Annual Joseph Bookstaber Memorial Tournament. They also qualified for the HSNCT in 2012, placing 5th at NAQT New Jersey State championships. In 2013, the team once again competed at NAQT New Jersey State Championships, though they placed 16th.
2017-2019
In 2017, J.P. Stevens Quiz Bowl was brought back once again, this time under former National Geography Bee Champion Karan Menon. Karan Menon would finish as the strongest player in J.P. Stevens Quiz Bowl history. They placed 13th at East Brunswick Funfest IV, and 5th at NACs in Washington DC.
Renaissance
2019-2020
The next year, the J.P. Stevens Quiz Bowl team placed 5th at East Brunswick Funfest V, under the strong play of newcomer Allen Wang, junior Vice President Joseph George, and seniors Harini Raghavan and Divyesh Trivedi.
2020-2021
In January 9, 2021, J.P. Stevens ran the Hawks Nest Invitational. The tournament was plagued with logistical failures, ultimately resulting in only 5 rounds officially being played. After the tournament, Karan Menon, the tournament director, was harshly criticized for his role in the delays. Teams were eventually issued a full refund minus mirroring fees and staffing stipends.
In the 2020-21 season, the J.P. Stevens team enjoyed further success, with strong performances at Prison Bowl League, Ithaca Fall, and a 2nd place finish at the Southside Holiday Tournament. This strong play catapulted the team into a 75th place national ranking.
J.P. Stevens sent two teams to the 2021 HSNCT. Both teams qualified for playoffs at HSNCT, and ended with a 31st place finish for the A team, and a 49th place finish for the B team, the first time J.P. Stevens Quiz bowl attended HSNCT, and two of the highest placings in NJ.
2021-22 season
J.P. Stevens won first place at Princeton University's PHSAT XXVIII after defeating Hunter A. Their top players were evenly matched scorers Nishanth Bhargava and Kushal Aluru.
Middle Schools
The J.P. Stevens team has two middle school feeders in John Adams and Woodrow Wilson Middle School. John Adams Middle School in the 2020-21 season enjoyed a win at the New Jersey State Championship, with the duo of Mihir Tadeparti and Thomas Catuosco breaking the Hoppes-Mikanowski limit. They did not attend MSNCT, but were ranked highly among middle school teams in the 2021 season.
Notable Alumni
- Neil A. Sen, 2009 (Captain, 2009)
- Ria Sen, 2013
- Andy Shi, 2012
- Jeff Xie, 2015 (President, 2014-15)
- Howard Chang, 2012
- Vishal Bailoor, 2012
- Karan Menon, 2019 (President, 2017-19)
- Divyesh Trivedi, 2020 (President, 2020)
- Harini Raghavan, 2020
- Kaushik Isukapalli, 2020
- Joseph George, 2021 (President, 2021)
- Allen Wang, 2021