(From left) Mrs. Dina Zelden (parent coach), senior Brett Lorio, senior Sam Zelden (captain), junior Andrew Cerise, junior Anthony Stoner, and Mr. Ron Rossi (coach).

Jesuit’s two Varsity Quiz Bowl teams defended the their state title, winning top honors in the State National Academic Quiz Tournament in Lafayette on Saturday, April 18.

The Varsity A team, led by senior Sam Zelden (captain) and composed of senior Brett Lorio, junior Andrew Cerise and junior Anthony Stoner, went undefeated (10-0) to win first place. The Varsity B team, led by junior D.J. Ogbomah and composed of junior Stephen Owers, and sophomores Mitchell Barras, Andrew Souther, and Preston Warwick, won the lower bracket. 

Quiz bowl participants answered questions ranging over the entire spectrum of a high school curriculum and also include a certain amount of current events, sports, and popular culture. The Blue Jays beat teams from ESA, Baton Rouge Magnet, LSU Lab School, Mount Carmel Academy, and Zachery to claim the top spots.

The quiz bowlers will next compete against over 40 teams from across the country in the National Academic Championship (NAC) in New Orleans. The tournament is held in three cities over three weekends: New Orleans, May 23 – 25; Washington, D.C., May 29 – 31; or Chicago, June 6-8. The winners of the New Orleans and D.C. phases of the high school varsity tournament will travel to Chicago to compete in the final rounds of the third (June 6-8) phase of the competition. Last year, Jesuit was the first ever school from Louisiana to win the national tournament.

In Other NAC News

Jesuit’s Quiz Bowl teams recently participated in the NAC’s national 3-2-1 computer tournament. The varsity team, captained by Andrew Cerise, placed first in Louisiana and 6th in the nation of over a hundred participating teams. The JV team, led by freshman Robert Cerise, also won first in Louisiana as well as first place nationally in their division.