Dena Wood: Out and About

WAITSBURG - I have no delusions of being 'Smarter than a Fifth Grader.' In fact, if you read the Feb. 13 issue of The Times, you're prob­ably aware that even a third grade assessment posed somewhat of a challenge.

Be that as it may, I was in no way deterred from spending Monday morning in the company of some of the brightest teens around. The Regional Knowledge Bowl meet was taking place at Waitsburg High School and I wanted to find out first­hand if Waitsburg would be attending State for the fourth consecutive year.

KB meets are unique as far as "meets" go. They begin with a written round in which the team works to­gether to answer 60 multiple choice questions. Teams are then paired off and separated into rooms where they face off in oral competition. A team can consist of up to six players, but only four are "in" at a time. Players may switch in and out at the cap­tain's discretion.

Four players from each team sit at a long table; hands hovering over a long metal bar (buzzer) that runs the length of the table. As questions are read, players "buzz in" to indicate their team would like to answer. When the buzzer is tapped, the reader stops; the team has 15 seconds to agree on a response. A correct answer earns them a point. They don't lose a point for a wrong answer but the opposing team has a shot at answering. Waitsburg, Riverside Christian (Ya­kima), Dayton and DeSales competed in the 2B division at Regionals. Pomeroy and Prescott competed in the 1B division.

Seniors EJ Meserve, Chad and Nick Pearson and Meara Baker, and ju­niors Hannah Grant and Emma Philbrook make up Waitsburg's team. Eighth grader, Leighton Dorman serves as alternate. I slipped quietly into the band room during round one of the oral competition to observe as Waitsburg faced off against Riverside. "Think of the first row in Pascal's triangle to contain a two digit number. What three different num­bers appear in that row?" asked the reader.

After listening to a few mind-numbing questions and nabbing some photos of the team in action (a relative term in this instance) I stepped outside to chat with Advisor Brad Green. "We've gone to State the last three years and have placed in the top nine there the last two. I'd love to see us land in the top five," said Green, who calls this his "best team ever."

After the first oral round all six teams gathered in the auditorium to grab snacks and get score updates. Stand­ings following the Written Round and Oral Round One were: Riverside 63, Dayton 57, Waitsburg 52, DeSales 42, Pomeroy 46 and Prescott 27.

Dayton's team, made up of Seniors Guy Spalinger (captain), Lincoln Riley and Kiara Biggar and freshmen Zech Bryan and Nicholas Goodell, was performing admirably. "Do what you normally do. Don't change it up once you get to Region­als. Dance with the girl who brought you to the dance," cautioned Dayton Advisor Doug Yenney during the break.

I headed to the Ag Room for Oral Round Two where 1B teams Prescott and Pomeroy were battling it out. "What palace in Lahsa was the original home of the Dalai Lama?" asked the reader. Pomeroy gave it a shot with "Taj Mahal," while Prescott declined to answer. Potala Place was the answer. "In which of the two major zones of the ocean is biolu­minescence the only source of light?" No response from either team. "The answer is aphotic."

Prescott team members include Seniors Andre Potts, Erik and Alberto Sando­val and Emily Wilson and Freshmen Oscar Garcia and Tyler Fedderson. Advisor Jeff Foertsch said the team doesn't have a designated captain, but rather take turns at the role. "We've done OK this year," said Foertsch. "The secret to a good team is year-after-year participation. Emily is our only returning player this year. I think we'll be much stronger next year."

2B Division scores fol­lowing Oral Round Two: Riverside 76, Waitsburg 72, Dayton 66 and DeSales 46. In the 1B Division Pomeroy scored 55 while Prescott had 31. The top two 2B schools would advance to State and -- with Riverside holding a consistent lead -- Dayton and Waitsburg were flip- flopping for second position. Oral Round Three would determine their fate.

Waitsburg played an ex­emplary final round, pulling well ahead of Dayton to secure a spot at State along with Riverside. Final 2B scores were: Riverside 100, Waitsburg 93, Dayton 75 and DeSales 51. Pomeroy earned a 1B Sate spot with 65 points, while Prescott came in with 37. The State meet will take place at Ar­lington High School, north­east of Seattle, on March 22.

As the meet concluded, I had a question of my own. While teams face off in pairs, they are actually com­peting against all the teams since the final scores are a running total of all rounds. Therefore, would it be pos­sible for a team to lose all three oral rounds and still win a meet? If I wanted to, I could probably figure it out; but I think I'll ask a Knowl­edge Bowler, instead.