SJP has a renowned Knowledge Bowl team, and success is almost always expected. The team, with nearly 45 members, competed hard all season with competitions in Buffalo, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, North Branch, Rogers, and Zimmerman. After the regular season came to an end, two 5-member teams continued practicing to compete at sub-regionals. All year, coaches Mr. Miller and Ms. Daiker struggled with determining which students belong on Team 1, and which belong on Team 2. There was a lot of intelligence among the seven seniors and three juniors, and Team 1 didn’t always beat Team 2. In fact, no matter what combination the coaches utilized, Team 2 almost always beat Team 1. The two teams were equally talented in Knowledge Bowl-ing, but finding the perfect combination to ensure the greatest amount of success came as a struggle.

On Friday, March 9th, at 8 am, Mr. Miller and his “Top Ten” loaded into a big white van (it did in fact have windows, not to worry!), and drove to Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell. After a quick stop at Kwik Trip for some very necessary coffee, of course. Ms. Daiker met the students there, and it wasn’t long before the competition began. Team 1 was Gabriel Curnutt, ’18, Zander Haws, ’18, Regan Mies, ’18, Tina Chen, ’19, and alternate Cailtin Skahen, ’19. Team 2 was Gabriel Woodard, ’18, Cullin Egge, ’18, Jack Rogers, ’18, Christian Brenny, ’18, and alternate Lizzy Kolb, ’19. After a written round and five oral rounds, both teams were able to advance to regionals. They tied on the written round and the oral rounds, which is almost unheard of! After the tie-breaker, Team 2 received 2nd place and Team 1 received 3rd. Eden-Valley Watkins took 1st place, and three other teams besides those also advanced from this particular region. The students packed up their equipment and shiny medals and drove back to school – after a quick pit stop at McDonalds.

The two teams continued sharpening their buzzing skills and general knowledge over the next week or so and were confident and ready going into regionals. On Monday, March 19th, they stopped at Local Blend for some coffee and made their way back to Celebration Lutheran. This meet determines who goes to State from our larger region, and could either be a ticket to advance, or the end of the season. The teams fought hard, and, ultimately, Team 1 emerged victorious. They received the highest score of all the small schools, automatically advancing them to the State competition. The highest scoring big and medium school teams also advanced. After those three teams, the schools were split into division A and AA. The teams leading the top and bottom half of that split are the only other teams to move on. Unfortunately, Team 2 was beat out of that position and missed advancing by only 4 points.

Team 1 will be competing at the State competition at Kragun’s Resort in Brainerd on April 12th and 13th, along with all the other best Knowledge Bowl teams from around the state. Wish them luck as they represent not only our entire Knowledge Bowl team, but also Saint John’s Prep as a whole. Congratulations on a wonderful season, especially to all the hard working seniors who collectively put in hundreds of hours over the past multiple years for KB!