Manson High School's Knowledge Bowl Team secures 3rd place at state tournament

MANSON - The Manson High School Knowledge Bowl team showcased their intellectual prowess at the Washington State Knowledge Bowl Tournament held at Wenatchee High School on Saturday, March 23rd. Competing against a highly competitive pool of 18 2B teams from across the state, Manson's team battled their way to an impressive 3rd place finish.

The tournament was divided into two divisions, with nine teams in each. Manson dominated their division in the preliminary rounds, which consisted of a rigorous written test and four intense oral rounds. Their outstanding performance earned them the top seed in the semi-finals.

In a heart-pounding and electric semi-final round, Manson faced off against two formidable private schools, Walla Walla's DeSales Catholic High School and Spokane's St. George High School. The round ended in a tie between Manson and DeSales, with both teams scoring 15 points. Manson prevailed in the tiebreaker, beating DeSales 4-1 and advancing to the Championship round.

The Championship round saw Manson competing against familiar rivals, Liberty and Seton Catholic, in a rematch of last year's top three finishers. The lead alternated between the teams throughout the first half of the round, but Liberty ultimately pulled ahead in the second half to secure the first-place title. Seton Catholic claimed second place, while Manson finished in a commendable third place.

Coach Fournier expressed pride in his team's performance, stating, “I am proud of my team. For the past three years, this team has qualified and placed at State. It’s been a great ride for the fab five seniors. I’ll miss their humor and fun-loving, competitive spirit and their unquenchable thirst for knowledge and intellectual prowess.”

Several other North Central Washington Knowledge Bowl teams also qualified and competed at the State tournament in the 4A, 1A, 2B, and 1B divisions. Moses Lake (7th) and Wenatchee (12th) represented the 4A division, while Cascade (5th) and Cashmere (7th) competed in the 1A division. Tonasket placed 5th in the 2B division, and Pateros (10th) and Republic (11th) represented the 1B division.