Essex
| Essex High School | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Essex Junction, Vt. | |
| Coaches | David Rome |
| State Championships | Vt.-NEA 1995, 2002, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 |
| National Championships | None |
| Program Status | Unknown |
| School Size | Unknown |
| NAQT Page | link |
Essex High School is Vermont's largest high school, a public school of about 1,550 students. It serves the Vermont communities of Essex Junction, Essex and Westford. EHS' quiz bowl team is a member of the Vermont-NEA Scholars' Bowl, competing in the Chittenden Region.
State tournament
Essex is a consistent contender in the Vermont Scholars' Bowl and has won the championship seven times, in 1995, 2002, 2010, 2013-2015, and in 2017. The 2010 title game was the first in league history to go to overtime, with the Hornets beating Hanover, 237-235.
Essex also posted state tournament runner-up finishes in 1990, 1998 and 2008.
National tournaments
Essex's state championship teams participated in the Panasonic Academic Challenge in 1995 and 2002. Neither made the playoffs but three Hornets -- Jack McClintock (2004), Will Begley (2008) and Brendan Farmer (2008) -- were key parts of Vermont all-star teams that reached the Panasonic semifinals.
Essex's 2010 state championship team struggled at the National All-Star Academic Tournament, going 0-15.
Other tournaments
EHS is one of Vermont's more active teams, regularly competing in the Hanover Round Robin and other events run by the Vermont league. Most notably, Essex is the host site for the Sue Pasco Opening Tournament, the Vermont Scholars' Bowl's season-opening event held in September.
Coach
The current coach of Essex is David Rome, who took over at the start of the 2015-16 season. Rome moved to Essex after 20 years coaching Burlington.
Essex had been coached by Lea Ann Smith since the start of the 2002-03 season until the end of the 2014-15 season. Smith also serves as the treasurer of the Vermont-NEA Scholars' Bowl.
Previously, Sue Pasco served as the Hornets' longtime coach. She guided Essex to its two state championships and died tragically soon after the teams' surprising run to the 2002 title.
Noted Alumni
- Kalen Gangatirkar ('96)
- Jimmy Vanzo ('02)
- Jack McClintock ('04)
- Jeremiah Begley ('07)
- Will Begley ('08)
- Brendan Farmer ('08)
- Stefan Deutsch ('10)
- Chris Bergeron ('10)
- Felix Wu ('10)
- Cole Blondin ('14)
- Logan Brunet ('15)
- Martin Deutsch ('15)
- Matt Bergeron ('15)
- Jason Yin ('15)