Two Whitman teams qualified for the National History Bowl National Championship at the D.C. regional tournament March 17.

Team Whitman A, consisting of seniors Ketan Jha, Todd Pollak, Basil Smitham and Jeremy Steinberg, placed fifth out of 11 varsity teams from  the D.C. metropolitan area, while Whitman B, seniors Alex Luta and Tim Zulf and junior Richard Helmer, finished sixth in the same division. To qualify for nationals April 28, teams must have a winning record or win one playoff match.

Both the competition and the history trivia questions at the tournament were more difficult than at previous events, said Steinberg, who led Whitman A. Despite the challenge, his team was confident, he said.

“We were expecting to do very well,” Steinberg said. “There were a lot of very good teams, but we knew we would be somewhere in the top five.”

Luta said he was happy his three-member team qualified for Nationals despite being outnumbered by many opponents.

“Even though we were at a disadvantage because we had a smaller team, I knew the three that we had were strong players and that we would do well,” he said

Both teams qualified for the championship last year, but neither Luta nor Steinberg participated at the national level.

The two teams, formed largely from the Whitman Quizbowl team, reviewed History Bowl questions at Quizbowl practices the week of the regional tournament. Questions covered U.S. and world history. In some rounds, players answered individually for their team, while in others, teammates were allowed to confer before answering.

Steinberg said he is hopeful about Whitman A’s chances in the National Championship in April.  Whitman A and B participated in the championship last year, but neither Steinberg nor Luta attended.

“I think we’ll do very well,” Steinberg said. “The same teams that beat us on Saturday could very well beat us again, or we could beat them. It really depends, but last year, my team placed tenth at nationals, and the team’s only better since then.”

Luta agreed, noting the fierce competition the Whitman teams have already endured.

“Both our A and B teams did well at this tournament, and this region is very strong in History Bowl. Because we did well in a strong region, I have high expectations for nationals,” he said.