Revving up their brains and their new season, the Knowledge Bowl participants held their first meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 28. Fred Kinney, Knowledge Bowl sponsor, said he is “proud to give kids an opportunity to compete in a solely academic competition, where no one has to sit the bench and everyone gets to compete and participate.” Kinney said, “Although it is very early in the season, all of the students showed real enthusiasm and great attitudes today, and that is always a good sign.” And Jaryn Stover (19) said, “Our first practice was today, and I feel like we have a pretty good setup this year. A decent amount of people showed to our first practice, so I’m hopeful that we can fill in the shoes of our team last year.”

There are a few newcomers to the club this year, but some of the real standout stars are the seniors Jonathan Ballard, Lizzy Gonzales, Jaryn Stover, and Josh Lapp. Most of these seniors have been Knowledge Bowl competitors for the majority of their high school careers, and are excited to kick off their final season. The major goal for the Knowledge Bowl team this year is to make it to the state competition, which is held in Fort Collins.

Stover said, “I feel nervous about our team this year since we don’t know who will be in our state team. We did well last year because we had a lot of smart people, but this year I am hoping that we can take state.” In 2016, the team accomplished this goal and took fourth overall in state, and they aim to do even better this year.