Knowledge Bowl Wins State

Spokesperson Kincaid Diersen after MVL's victory at state.

On Wednesday, April 10th, while most people hunkered down in the midst of a Spring Blizzard, two MVL teams braved the impending weather and traveled to Brainerd MN to compete in the State Knowledge Bowl Championship. MVL Black, Kincaid Diersen (11), Marshall Mohror(12), Jonah Kramer(10), and Stephanie Dose (12), and MVL Gold, Grace Peterson (12), Beth Albrecht (12), Johanna Stelljes (12), Peter Smith (11), and Mark Spengler (9), both left from MVL in the early morning and were able to stay ahead of snow storm for the entire drive.

After arriving at Craguns Resort, were the meet was held, they, along with their coach, Mr. Dobberpuhl, attended the opening banquet, and settled in. Afterwards both teams competed in the written round, were teams had one hour to complete a 60 question multiple choice exam. At the end of the written round MVL Gold was in second place with 51 points, and MVL Black was in first with 52 points. Having secured the top two spots in the section A tournament, the MVL Bowlers spent the rest of the night enjoying the poolside pizza party and each others company.

Thursday consisted of five different oral rounds where rooms of three teams competed by buzzing in earliest to answer trivia questions. After gaining scores of 6, 11, 7, and 15 MVL Gold ended the meet in 12th place with a total of 100.5 points.

MVL Black scored 22 points in the first oral round, which gave them a sizable 10 point lead over the second place team, Hawley. They maintained this lead in the second round with 14 points, but the lead they had over Hawley dropped to just four points when they scored 9 points in round three. After scoring 13 points in round four MVL had a total of 110 points, but Hawley was close behind them with a score of 106.

Our Chargers walked into a tension filled room at the beginning of round five, the final round of the day. They had a four point lead over Hawley, however, Hawley had previously beaten them by six points in a single round, so the State title remained up in the air. The members of MVL Black laughed and joked as they settled in, but everyone in the room felt the stress of the final round. Anthony Sonnek, a reader who they had all come to know well during their time in knowledge bowl, set up and shared some laughs with the team, while MVL's two seniors, Stephanie and Marshall, tried to avoid lingering on the fact that this would be the last round of their career.

The competition was fierce, after the first 15, and then 30 questions Hawley and MVL remained tied. Mr. Dobberpuhl anxiously stood in the corner of the room, slightly bouncing, waiting to see whether or not MVL would bring home it's first State Knowledge Bowl Championship. As the questions were read off and then answered, the suspense continued to build. But then, abruptly, the tension in the room dissipated. The members of a certain knowledge bowl team began to sport goofy grins, Parents started whispering, and Mr. Dobberpuhl's once anxious bounces were now content and gleeful.

The Final Score: Hawley - 124, MVL Black - 129.5

Jonah Kramer, Mark Spengler, and Marshall Mohror before departing for Brainerd

Jonah Kramer, Mark Spengler, Marshall Mohror, Kincaid Diersen, Peter Smith, and Donna Dose heading out

Grace Peterson, Johanna Stelljes, and Beth Albrecht loading up a van

Marshall Mohror, Beth Albrecht, Johanna Stelljes, and Grace Peterson on the ride up to Brainerd

Johanna finding MVL's teams on region nine's board

Kincaid Diersen and Johanna Stelles at Craguns Resort

Back Row (L-R): Jonah Kramer, Marshall Mohror, Peter Smith, Kincaid Diersen, and Stephanie Dose
Front Row (L-R): Mark Spengler, Beth Albrecht, Johanna Stelljes, and Grace Peterson