FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2015
Contact: Karen Warner
Director of Communications
Hinsdale Township High School District 86
[email protected]
Hinsdale Central Scholastic Bowl Team Takes 2nd Place at
IHSA State Tournament
Team Hopes to Continue Strong Performance at NAQT
National Tournament in May
Back row, l-r, Coach Alan McCloud, Hugo Zoells, Andrew Coyner,
Harrison Wang, B.J. Ryan, Front row, team captains James Zhou
and Sunny Chen, not pictured Ankush Bajaj
Photo courtesy of Julie Liesse
Hinsdale, Ill. – April 10, 2015 – Hinsdale Township High School District 86 today
congratulated the Hinsdale Central High School Scholastic Bowl Team for its second place
finish at the IHSA state tournament. This season the scholastic bowl team put in its best
performance since the ‘90s.
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“The varsity squad was very committed to success all season by studying a lot and traveling to
many weekend tournaments to test themselves against the best teams in the state and beyond,”
said Alan McCloud, the varsity scholastic bowl coach. “This commitment paid off, resulting in a
91-36 overall record, a 12-0 regular season West Suburban Conference record and conference
championship, a WSC Conference tournament championship, a 9-0 record and championship at
the IHSSBCA (Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association) Kickoff Tournament
in November, and second place at the NAQT (National Academic Quiz Tournaments) Illinois
state tournament in February, among many other strong performances.”
The team won their IHSA regional and a tough IHSA sectional before their performance at the
IHSA state tournament. At state, the team secured three victories, including wins over two
exceptional teams, IMSA and Bloomington on their way to the second place finish to Auburn.
McCloud said the team looks forward to competing at the High School National Championship
Tournament hosted by NAQT in Chicago in May. Last May they finished tied for 34th nationally
with a team made up entirely of sophomores. This season McCloud said they hope to do much
better with another year of studying, practice and competition under their belts.
Sunny Chen, James Zhou, and Ankush Bajaj were all named All-Sectional Players by IHSSBCA,
for achieving one of the top 16 spots in the sectional and Sunny Chen and James Zhou were
named to the IHSSBCA First All-State Team for placing in the state competition’s top 10.
McCloud also expressed confidence in continuing the strong performance, “The team hopes to
be the dominant team in the Illinois scholastic bowl/quiz bowl world as our very experienced and
accomplished team will be predominantly seniors.”
Captains Sunny Chen and James Zhou, along with Anjush Bajaj, B.J. Ryan, Andrew Coyner,
Hugo Zoells, all juniors, and sophomore Harrison Wang competed on the top varsity squad this
season.
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