By Ethan Lee
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Think fast!
The Needham High School Quiz Bowl Team travelled to WGBH studios on Saturday, January 21 for their first round matchup between Brookline High School in the channel’s eighth edition of “High School Quiz Show.” Results of the tie are classified until it is aired on WGBH 2 and WGBX 44.
Headed by Needham High School history teachers Kenneth Brooke and Brad Walker, the team qualified for the event by placing in the top 16 out of over 150 Massachusetts high schools that auditioned. Auditioning teams were questioned with various trivia, after which scores were compiled to determine the final contestants for “High School Quiz Show”.
The Needham High team was excited for the event; team co-president and senior Alexander Pasternack explained that he was “looking forward to being cheered on,” describing the upcoming matchup as an “interesting opportunity.”
Team co-president and senior Dilan Bharadwa added, “I’m looking forward to being around people with similar interests.”
Needham competed in the tournament with four members onstage: Bharadwa, Pasternack, junior Roger Ramesh, and sophomore Seth Lockwood. Each of these students is an expert in specific topics. According to Bharadwa, “We specialize in different subjects. Alex is history, Roger is sports, computer science, and math, I [specialize in] science, literature, and music...Seth is good at mythology.”
Each member has his own personal reasons for joining the Quiz Bowl team. Ramesh has a strong passion for trivia and has watched “High School Quiz Show” since middle school. For Pasternack, who has been part of the team since his sophomore year, the benefits were meeting “like-minded people with a similar passion for learning new things.”
The team prepared for the event by spending Thursday afternoons answering practice problems and holding mock “High School Quiz Show” competitions within the team.
The Needham team had high hopes for the playoff against Brookline; Walker noted, “On any given day, anybody can be beaten.”
The contest between Needham’s Quiz Bowl Team and Brookline’s Quiz Bowl Team will be aired on WGBH 2 on February 11, 12, and 17, and on WGBX 44 on February 11 and 17. For more information, visit the WGBH “High School Quiz Show” website at http://www.wgbh.org/quizshow.
