On Tuesday March 18, the Unity 7^th and 8^th grade scholastic bowl teams took first and second place honors as they competed in the annual NUIC Academic Bowl Tournament at West Carroll in Mt. Carroll, Illinois.

 

After winning in the first round of play against Chadwick, the 7^th grade team went on to compete against Eastland. Covering a diverse array of topics from science, math, and history, to government and home economics, Unity’s 7^th graders buzzed in with adept speed. Throwing out answers like “pork”, “Legislative Branch”, and “Hymn”, Unity was able to take the lead and eventually take the 1^st place trophy despite a great play from Eastland’s squad. While this is a team event, the leadership of Collin Willoughby surfaced for the 7^th grade team. Winning 9 of the 20 toss-up questions alone, he helped propel the 7^th graders to the First Place trophy. 

 

Although down to a final question, Unity’s 8^th grade scholastic bowl team won in the first round against West Carroll. They then went on to compete against Chadwick. Unity surged ahead after the half with answers in spelling and math, but Chadwick responded with a strong showing in grammar. It came down to the very last set of bonus questions in history. Unity came within 5 points (one bonus question), but proudly took home the 2^nd place trophy.