The EP Scholastic Bowl team recently finished a very successful season highlighted with a trip, for the first time, to the state round of the Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl. The team worked under the guidance of coaches Emily Higgins and Steven Stoner.
The team had a tremendously long season starting in October and competing through March. The group met on average twice a week for practice while competing for time with participants who are involved in other activities.
On Tuesday the team gathered for a brief awards ceremony and then headed to Plum Hollow Lanes in Dixon for a post-season outing. The coaches expressed their admiration for the team members during the lengthy season and their dedication to the activity. Higgins said this is the largest team in some time and is excited to see the program continue to grow. “Next year we have a lot of hope for our upcoming 8th graders as they join our JV team and we return almost all of our varsity players.”
Coach Stoner said he greatly appreciated the unique areas of expertise that each team member brought to the group. “I couldn’t be prouder of the effort and class this group showed. It was an outstanding group to be a part of in my first experience as a coach.”
Season Records
Varsity 7-6, 5th place in the TRAC.
JV 5-3
Masonic Academic Bowl
The team won their sectional to advance to state taking first in a six team field.
The state round of the tournament was held March 5th at Bloomington High School with teams divided into three classes based on size. The Panthers competed with 10 teams for the 1A title using a combination of Varsity and Junior Varsity players. The team played 5 matches against other 1A schools. “Our goal was to win as many matches as we could but soon found out that the competition was tough. Our goal then changed to win at least one match because this was the first time that either school (prior to the co-op) had made it to Masonic State.” The team went 1-4 in their pool. Higgins said the team did their best and will use the trip as a learning experience in hopes of returning next year.
Post Season
On March 7th, varsity went to IHSA Regionals at Riverdale. The team defeated West Carroll 400 to 150 in their first match but unfortunately lost to Riverdale in the next round to end the season.
MVPs
The top scoring Varsity players were Dave Egan and Ryan Roman with the pair named to the TRAC All-Conference First Team. Roman was ranked 1st for toss-up questions with Egan ranked 10th.
JV Team Roster
Freshmen: Jeff Chastain, Dena Cox, Zach Murphy, Matthew Quimby, Max Temple, Jolene Wells, Robert Winters
Sophomores: Dakota Schick
Varsity Team Roster
Juniors: David Egan, Joey Lindsay, Mekenzie Loechel, Emma Megli, Ryan Roman, James Smith, Ally Wisely, Tommy Addington Mgr.
TRAC All-Conference Honors
Photos from the Season
