Quiz Bowl Wins National Championship
(Updated April 29, 2024)
Originally published April 23, 2024
Over the past weekend, St. Mark's Upper School Academic Team delivered an impressive performance at the Texas State Quiz Bowl Championship in Houston and proved themselves among the top teams in the nation. Texas is renowned for hosting some of the nation’s most competitive quiz bowl teams, and this year's competition was no exception. The championship format featured an 11-match round-robin, with playoffs necessary only if the top team did not have a two-game advantage.
The Upper School Academic A-Team (Aditya Shivaswamy ’24, Ethan Bosita ’24, Sohum Sukhatankar ’24, and Vardhan Agnihotri ’24) won the Small School National Championship Tournament trophy in Chicago over the weekend of April 27. The B-Team (Arnav Lahoti ‘24, Surya Dinesh ‘25, Rishik Kapoor ‘27 and Tony Lu ‘27) brought home the third-place trophy. The C-Team (Jeremy Mau ‘25, Andy Li ‘26, Aryaman Lahoti ‘26, and Kevin Hong ‘26) finished in 17th place. Lahoti was awarded as the 6th best player in the tournament, while Sukhatankar was 10th.
The A-Team went undefeated all day Saturday in prelims and cleared the field on Sunday in the double-elimination bracket. They faced Alabama Cybertech in an advantaged final. While they lost the first match 425-455, the boys jumped out early and never looked back, winning the rematch decisively 660-210.
The A-Team went undefeated all day Saturday in prelims and cleared the field on Sunday in the double-elimination bracket. They faced Alabama Cybertech in an advantaged final. While they lost the first match 425-455, the boys jumped out early and never looked back, winning the rematch decisively 660-210.
Originally published April 23, 2024
Over the past weekend, St. Mark's Upper School Academic Team delivered an impressive performance at the Texas State Quiz Bowl Championship in Houston and proved themselves among the top teams in the nation. Texas is renowned for hosting some of the nation’s most competitive quiz bowl teams, and this year's competition was no exception. The championship format featured an 11-match round-robin, with playoffs necessary only if the top team did not have a two-game advantage.
The St. Mark’s team of Aditya Shivaswamy ’24 (captain), Sohum Sukhatankar ’24, Ethan Bosita ’24, Vardhan Agnihotri ’24, and Arnav Lahoti ’24 faced a challenging start. They narrowly lost their first match to The Heights (245-260), putting them at an early disadvantage. However, they bounced back strongly, securing victories against Basis Cedar Park (560-85) and Caddo Magnet (395-290) before facing a setback against Seven Lakes (235-265). Despite these early challenges and assuming that third place was the best possible outcome, the team persevered. They won their remaining preliminary games, including notable victories over Strake Jesuit (535-250) and handing Kinkaid their only loss of the prelims (435-290). Aditya Shivaswamy was the team's top scorer, averaging an impressive 53.11 points per game.
The tournament dynamics shifted as the other top teams beat each other, with Strake Jesuit tying with The Heights in their preliminary matchup. After the prelims, Kinkaid held the best record at 10-1, with The Heights at 9-1-1 and St. Mark's in third place at 9-2. This set up an elimination match against The Heights, where St. Mark's seized the rematch opportunity, winning decisively 420-220. This victory led to the challenge of defeating Kinkaid twice in a row to clinch the State Championship. Demonstrating exceptional skill and teamwork, St. Mark's triumphed in both matches, 380-280 and 450-310, securing the Academic Team’s first Texas State Championship since 2017.
“We are immensely proud of this achievement, which not only showcases our students' exceptional talents and determination, but also represents a significant milestone in St. Mark’s storied quiz bowl history,” said Paul Mlakar, Director of Academic Information Systems and Academic Team Head Coach.
From here, twelve Marksmen are set to compete in the Small School National Championship (Open Division) in Chicago over the weekend of April 26.
“They carry with them the hopes of securing another national title for St. Mark’s and continuing our tradition of excellence,” Mlakar added.
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The team wins the Small School National Championship in Chicago.
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The team holds the Texas State Quiz Bowl Championship trophy.
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St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
