2009 VT and NH state finals

[kcommo]

The field are now set for this weekend's Vermont-NEA Scholars' Bowl and New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League state finals. Yet again Hanover's in the running for double state titles (something it's accomplished three times in the last six years), though this year I think the competition is pretty wide open in both states.

The Vermont Scholars' Bowl finals are Saturday at Champlain College in Burlington. The schedule is
Medlar Cup final: Burlington vs. BFA-St. Albans (this is the championship of the second-tier bracket as we use a promotion-relegation system)
Play-in round: Hanover vs. Medlar Cup winner
Semifinals: Essex vs. Mt. Mansfield; Rice vs. Play-in winner

The NHQBL finals are an eight-team round robin and are Sunday at Hanover High School. This year they held four regional tournaments, with the intra-region winners and the four schools that accrued the most total victories at all four events qualifying. The field is: Hanover (West champion),
Manchester West (Merrimack champion), Phillips Exeter (Seacoast champion), Winnisquam (Lakes champion), Oyster River, Portsmouth Christian, Londonderry and Coe-Brown.

I'll post results as they come in over the weekend.

[kcommo]

Hanover got it done again in Vermont, successfully defending its Vermont-NEA Scholars' Bowl championship despite graduating three of its four starters from last year. It was Hanover's record fifth Scholars' Bowl championship, and major congrats go out to coach Bill Murphy and his squad for an impressive display. They won because they were the deepest, best-rounded, most resilient squad in the finals.

The scores were:
Medlar Cup: BFA-St. Albans 265, Burlington 235
Play-in: Hanover 310, BFA 195
Semifinal: Mt. Mansfield 315, Essex 255
Semifinal: Hanover 275, Rice Memorial 250
Final: Hanover 305, Mt. Mansfield 250

Hanover goes for the Twin State sweep today in the New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League, though it does so without leading scorer Nick O'Leary so it'll be a major challenge. I'll post results when I see them, probably on Monday.

Hanover will be headed to nationals somewhere, likely either at NAQT or NTAE.

[kcommo]

It's another state title sweep for Hanover High School. The Marauders swept through the New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League opposition Sunday -- beating Phillips Exeter in overtime and Oyster River by a single point -- to claim their 10th title in the NHQBL's 13-year history.

Final standings were:
7-0 Hanover
6-1 Phillips Exeter
5-2 Oyster River
3-4 Manchester West
2-5 Londonderry
2-5 Portsmouth Christian
2-5 Winnisquam
1-6 Coe Brown

It's the second year in a row and the fourth time in the last seven years Hanover has won the Vermont and New Hampshire titles in the same season.

New Hamsphire will send an all-star team to NTAE as per usual. I still haven't heard officially what Hanover will do with its Vermont winnings.

[kcommo]

It's looking like Hanover will be attending HSNCT, so I'm glad to be able to say Northern New England should be represented at a real national tournament this year.

[Down and out in Quintana Roo]

Excellent! I'm very interested to see how they will stack up against the best teams in the country in real quizbowl.

[AKKOLADE]

This is great news. I hope it goes well, Kevin.

[Byko]

It's looking like Hanover will be attending HSNCT, so I'm glad to be able to say Northern New England should be represented at a real national tournament this year.

If memory serves me right, Hanover went to HSNCT a couple (or 3 or so) years ago and went 5-5. My guess, offhand, is that they could do about the same this year, but that's just a guess--I haven't exactly been paying as much attention lately.

[Important Bird Area]

If memory serves me right, Hanover went to HSNCT a couple (or 3 or so) years ago and went 5-5. My guess, offhand, is that they could do about the same this year, but that's just a guess--I haven't exactly been paying as much attention lately.

4-6 at the 2007 HSNCT

[kcommo]

If memory serves me right, Hanover went to HSNCT a couple (or 3 or so) years ago and went 5-5. My guess, offhand, is that they could do about the same this year, but that's just a guess--I haven't exactly been paying as much attention lately.

This year, our league was down a fair amount from where it was the previous two season. We had great competitive balance, but that was probably because the top end teams weren't as good.

Hanover won this year because it had the best balance and because it improved the most during the course of the season. But I don't think they're on the same level as the Hanover teams the previous two seasons considering they're a young team that had to replace three three-year starters, including Dylan Mathews who made the all-star team at NAQT in 2007.

What does that mean on the national level? I have no idea. Considering how the local tossup-bonus events went, my guess is that South Burlington probably has a slightly better chance to make a run at a playoff spot but Hanover only played one of our NAQT events (and that was at the start of the season) so I'm not sure that's an entirely fair comparison.

Bottom line, though, no Vermont or New Hampshire team has gone better than 5-5 at a tossup-bonus national tournament and I don't think that's likely to change this year.

[Tower Monarch]

Bottom line, though, no Vermont or New Hampshire team has gone better than 5-5 at a tossup-bonus national tournament and I don't think that's likely to change this year.

Sorry to revive a somewhat old thread, but I just wanted to say that I'd be interested in helping change this for next year. I'll be at Dartmouth for the next four years, and will probably spend my off-terms in the western MA/VT/NH area as well. Once I get settled in September/October, it would be great if I could work with you and the Hanover coach(es) to make this a possibility. Specifically, I would like to see HSAPQ firmly rooted in the area and have both the NSC and HSAPQ NASAT become targets alongside (or in place of) HSNCT. Feel free to email me or pass my email (outhwest AT gmail DOT com) along to other local contacts.

[kcommo]

Sorry to revive a somewhat old thread, but I just wanted to say that I'd be interested in helping change this for next year. I'll be at Dartmouth for the next four years, and will probably spend my off-terms in the western MA/VT/NH area as well. Once I get settled in September/October, it would be great if I could work with you and the Hanover coach(es) to make this a possibility. Specifically, I would like to see HSAPQ firmly rooted in the area and have both the NSC and HSAPQ NASAT become targets alongside (or in place of) HSNCT. Feel free to email me or pass my email (outhwest AT gmail DOT com) along to other local contacts.

Thanks a lot for your interest. I'll be the first to admit that the circuit up here is significantly underdeveloped, and anything you can do to help change that would be greatly appreciated.

I'm definitely known as the champion of NAQT in Northern New England, but that's as much incrementalism as anything. We're dealing with teams that, in addition to playing at a different level from other parts of the country, compete primarily on horrible speed-check questions in the Vermont Scholars' Bowl or the New Hampshire Quiz Bowl League and Granite State Challenge. So, I go for steps toward pryamidal questions -- and if it can move further forward, I'm all for it.

As for where you can help directly, Bill Murphy is the Hanover coach (as well as the director of the NHQBL) and he's always looking for people to help out with his tournaments, particularly the fall round robin. His e-mail is william (dot) n (dot) murphy (at) dresden (dot) us. And of course, I'd appreciate anything you can do to help out with my tournaments in Vermont or to get an event going at Dartmouth.

Thanks again!