The Quiz Bowl team will compete in semifinals of It’s Academic after a record-breaking season this year, with key seniors and co-captains Sam and Will Arnesen leading the team to success.

After winning their first county championship Feb. 23 and winning an It’s Academic playoff round this past weekend, the team has made Whitman Quiz Bowl history.

Quiz Bowl is similar to Jeopardy except teams of three or four answer the trivia questions, not individuals, senior Caroline Evans said.

The team was able to secure first place, beating rival Richard Montgomery. Each member played a pivotal role in their success, Evans said.

“Sam Arnesen has insane buzzer speed, Will has great anticipation skills, Luke Rychlik knows some insane history, and Arya Hodjat knows how to dig deep and bring home the win,” Evans said.

Evans attributed her personal success at earning points at the recent competition to lessons from reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet first semester in Honors English 12 this year, which was a major focus of the questions. She racked up 25 points out of roughly 500 total from that advantage, she said.

Sam is often in charge of the buzzer and Will captains the team. Will has the deciding vote in which response to submit; the two make a great duo, Sam said.

Sam added that the entire team is comprised of returning members, which fosters a concrete understanding of the game and what it takes to win.

“All of the members who compete in tournaments have been on the team for at least two years, with some of us having been on the team for almost four years now,” Sam said. “We have a lot more experience relative to previous years.”

The team’s next competition is It’s Academic semifinals April 16. While Evans looks forward to the upcoming competition, she is proud of how much the team has already accomplished, she said.

“We’re a great team and that dynamic is what ends up ensuring we win,” Evans said.

Will Arnesen is the online managing editor and Arya Hodjat is a sports editor for the Black & White.