Wenatchee High School Knowledge Bowl participated in its first tournament of the season on Dec. 3 at WHS. After four rounds of competition, Wenatchee’s first team, comprised of senior Gwen McQuaig, senior Will Cannon and sophomore Colin Butler, finished in fourth place of nine teams in their division.

WHS was eventually narrowly defeated in a head-to-head match with perennial state champion contender Moses Lake, but did not go down without putting up a fight, according to Knowledge Bowl adviser and WHS English teacher Chris Cloke. Cloke was optimistic about the team’s performance both in that round and overall.

“I thought we did really well. The students were really excited to play against Moses Lake because Moses Lake has won the state tournament the last two out of three years. We played them within two points head-to-head so I think that’s a great sign for the rest of the season,” Cloke said.

This tournament consisted of four rounds of 40 questions, each round against two other teams. While the tournament was a success from a competitive standpoint in Cloke’s mind, it also allowed new members to learn how Knowledge Bowl competitions work, especially on the second WHS team, who placed second in their division and was made up of sophomore Shaena Morgan, junior Angel Ordos, sophomore Ian Morfin and sophomore Hayley Kniveton.

“[The first tournament] allows us to get started on practice, gets people enthusiastic, gets people ready and acquainted with the style of tournaments because we have so many new people this year,” Cloke said.

Despite having some new members, Cannon hopes to see more people interested in the club. For students looking to get involved, he suggests attending one of the club’s weekly Wednesday or Friday practices in portable 606.

“I think it would be a blast if more people joined. It’s something worth trying out, and if you don’t like it then you don’t have to show up again,” Cannon said.

With the team’s next tournament not until Jan. 9, Cloke believes that the team has an opportunity to regroup, improve skills and continue working on team chemistry.

“It was nice to start before the [winter] break. We hope that after it, we come out strong and figure out our teams,” Cloke said.