Congratulations to sophomores Brian Devendorf, Shashank Salgam, Dharini Madadi, Toby Zheng, and Corey Ditzel for finishing 8th in this spring’s National History Bowl Championship! 
“I really enjoyed competing against other History Bowl teams from around the country, especially when I was stuck at home for most of the year. We practiced and prepared well, and I’m very happy that we placed nationally,” said Toby Zheng.
History Bowl is a fast-paced, team quiz competition, where students respond to questions on the history of the arts, sciences, religion, philosophy, language, historical geography, recent history, sports, and entertainment. All events were held virtually this year. The History Research and Competition Club Advisor Andrew Krakat credited discipline as a factor of their success. ”The students found ways to come together to prepare for the History Bowl competitions. The students did a great job this year, qualifying for the national competition during the fall and spring meets, and placing 8th nationally this spring,” Mr Krakat said.
Club member Dharini Madadi called the experience “absolutely thrilling, even in a virtual environment.” She said although the team entered without a lot of experience, “I’m glad to say we left with a strong foundation regarding international history, amazing memories with each other, and of course, an 8th place finish nationally. We’re so excited to come back stronger next year.”
Corey Ditzel, seemed surprised the competitions were as entertaining as they were. “Participating in the history bowl this year was a phenomenal experience. Never would I have thought that learning and answering questions about history would be fun,” Corey admitted. Another student also called it a lot of fun to compete and answer questions with the team, “I think we did a great job, even against the best teams, answering many challenging questions,” said Brian Devendorf.
Shashank Salgam considers himself lucky to have worked with such talented teammates. “It was challenging no doubt, especially with us being a completely rookie team, but we still managed to keep up with the best competitors in the tournaments throughout the year,” Shashank said. “I’m really proud of the wins we scored this year, how far we came together as a team, and I can’t wait for us to go to Nationals next spring!”