YEE HAW! Yesterday, writers from Texas and an Editor from New York City hosted a tournament in over 100 different locations in the Northeast US simultaneously. Welcome to the first tournament recap of the 2020-2021 Season. The Lone Star Northeast Kickoff was held using Discord on October 10th, 2020 and was the first High School quizbowl tournament in the region of this season. Congratulations to Hunter A of New York for winning the tournament! 30 teams competed, of which 9 were from New Jersey. Democritus A High Tech's pseudonymous team was the highest finisher among New Jersey teams, finishing 6th with a record of 8-3. They were led by Max Brodsky's 72 PPG, good for 11th scorer, and Deepak Gopalakrishnan's 54 PPG, and put together victories against strong teams like Phillips Exeter and Hotchkiss in playoffs before ultimately losing to Manheim in the 5th place game. Democritus B Led by the balanced scoring of Sidharth Srivastava, Alex Wu, and Kevin Liu (43, 31, and 33 PPG respectively), Democritus B finished a respectable 4-6 in one of the toughest fields this season, demonstrating the incredible depth of High Tech's team.
Ridgewood A
Ridgewood A secured the second highest finish of any team from New Jersey at 8th after a forfeit loss to Hotchkiss. Aum's impressive PPG of 82.5 placed him 8th individually in the tournament and drove much of his team's success along with solid support from his teammates Aiden Dartley (49.5 PPG), Katrina Eilender and Nick Pruitt.
Ridgewood B
Showing admirable fortitude after an unfortunate record in a very difficult preliminary bracket, Ridgewood B picked up 2 wins in their afternoon consolation bracket. Being made up entirely of novices, Ridgewood B has much more to show at novice tournaments throughout the year and in tournaments beyond.
East Brunswick A
Despite not fielding any players from the A team last year, East Brunswick A put up a commendable performance off the back of Tanuj Chandekar's impressive 89 PPG, the 5th highest in the tournament and highest of all NJ players. With support from teammates like Simon Emmanuel, East Brunswick A was able to secure a top performance in the top consolation bracket.
East Brunswick B
Despite being the first tournament for all 3 players in the team, East Brunswick's B team still averaged nearly a power a game at their first tournament against an extremely competitive field. With many more tournaments left in store, it's always exciting to see the trajectory of NJ's novices rise up over time.
Livingston A
Livingston A was able to secure 11th place with a win over Choate Buffalo in the tournament. Their stellar performance came off the back of lead scorer Rosa Xia (51.82 PPG) who in conjunction with Jeffrey Xu, Ethan D'Costa and Veena Nambi (33.5, 19.09 and 15 PPG respectively) were able secure multiple wins.
Livingston B
A great mental fortitude after an unfortunate record in a very difficult preliminary bracket allowed Livingston B to pick up 3 wins in their afternoon consolation bracket. Being made up primarily of novices, Livingston B has much more to show at novice tournaments throughout the year and in tournaments beyond.
Livingston C
Despite battling through a tough field, Livingston C remained persistent. Regardless of results, it is an encouraging sign to the health of Livingston's team being the first C team from the program competing in years. With more time and experience, the program can only tend deeper and stronger.
Again, a special thanks to the Lone Star Writing and Editing Team for hosting the tournament!