INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Teams from George Washington High School and Sherman High School took first and second place honors (respectively) at the final West Virginia Academic Showdown regional competition, which was hosted today by West Virginia State University. These teams have qualified for the statewide championship in Charleston on March 25. Nine teams from Charleston Catholic High School, George Washington High School, Nitro High School, Riverside High School, Sherman High School and South Charleston High School competed today.

“I’m very grateful that George Washington has been able to maintain a quiz bowl team for four years. I’m happy with the performance of this team so far, and I look forward to the finals,” said Reese Mason, Team Captain from George Washington High School.

“We are so proud of our team,” said Sherman High School Captain Brett Adkins. “It really means a lot for us coming from such a small school and making it to states. We worked hard with our coach, and we are excited for the championship.”

Championed by West Virginia Senate President Craig Blair, the Academic Showdown is a new academic competition for West Virginia high school students that brings teams together from across the state for regional matchups on college campuses. The initiative represents a partnership among the West Virginia Department of Education, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture, and History and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Competition questions cover literature, math, history, science, geography, fine arts, religion/mythology, social science, philosophy, current events, pop culture and general knowledge. The West Virginia Academic Showdown utilizes official National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) questions for all regional and championship matches.

In recent weeks, teams from Tug Valley High School and Ripley High School advanced in the regional competition held at Marshall University; at Shepherd University, teams from Berkeley Springs High School and Spring Mills High School advanced; and teams from Greenbrier East High School and PikeView High School advanced at the Concord University competition.

The advancing teams from each region will face-off at the West Virginia Culture Center on March 25 during the Academic Showdown championship, which will be live streamed by West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

For competition highlights and details, visit https://wvde.us/academic-showdown-highlights/.

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