South Burlington
| South Burlington | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: South Burlington, VT | |
| Coaches | Eric Stone |
| State Championships | Vt. NAQT 2009 |
| National Championships | None |
| Program Status | Unknown |
| School Size | Unknown |
| NAQT Page | link |
South Burlington High School is a public school with an enrollment of about 950 students. One of Vermont's most active quiz bowl teams, SBHS is a member of the Vermont-NEA Scholars' Bowl.
State tournament
One of Vermont's last large schools to launch an academic team, South Burlington didn't start competing in the Scholars' Bowl until the 1997-98 season. The Rebels reached the semifinals the following year, their best finish to date, but a six-year period of mediocrity followed before they began an upswing by reaching the Medlar Cup finals and earning promotion out of the league's second tier in 2006. South Burlington was relegated the following season but bounced back to win the Medlar Cup and place fifth overall in 2008. The Rebels claimed their first regional title in the 2008-09 season.
Other tournaments
When the Vermont Scholars' Bowl started holding regular NAQT tournaments in 2007, South Burlington was one of the first schools to embrace the tossup-bonus format. Successful both in competition and as a tournament host, the school is the site of the Pre-Holiday Academic Tournament, Northern New England's largest toss-up bonus event. The December competition has drawn 28 teams from around the region in each of its first two incarnations in 2007 and 2008.
South Burlington's top team has not finished worse than fourth in seven local NAQT tournaments since the spring of 2007. The Rebel's first tournament win of any kind came in the 2008 Sue Pasco Opening Tournament while they have enjoyed particular success in the NAQT Vermont Championship, finishing second in 2007 and 2008 before sweeping the field to win the title in 2009.
National tournaments
SBHS made its nationals debut at NAQT's 2007 National Championship Tournament, finishing 3-7.
Current players
The 2008-09 team's top regular players include:
- Michael Gaffney
- Lane Kisonak
- Sebastian Ventrone
- Austin Young
- Kevin Wang