Minnesota 2021-22

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PunaEkka64
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Minnesota 2021-22

Post by PunaEkka64 »

With the season approaching, I've decided to let Reilly take a break from carrying the Minnesota threads and share my thoughts on the Minnesota circuit.

1)Wayzata A: Shocker, Wayzata A retains their spot as top dog in the state. They cover the big three subjects extremely well with the team likely being Nathan, Rick, Emily and Samarth. Emily, Nathan and Rick are the highest ranked players in their respect subjects (Science, Lit and History) that didn't graduate. Though they will be extremely good at the NAQT format with players like Rick and Nathan having good coverage over CE and geo and Samarth being a beast at geo, this team will likely be more dominant in the mACF format with their coverage of Fine Arts and RMPSS being far better than just about every other team.

2)Wayzata B: Wayzata B will be filled by Wayzata's endless pool of talent with players like Sid, Sam, Anuk, Aneesh, Leon, Cameron and the list goes on. I'm guessing the team will include Sam, who's an amazing history player, Anuk, who's really good at lit and FA, Aneesh, who put up 10 powers at HSNCT on just science on a very strong Wayzata A playing against the nation's best, and Cameron, whose dominance in trash will be very useful for NAQT.

3)EP A: Eden Prairie unfortunately loses its highest scorer ever in Jim Sweeny but retains an excellent Science player in Samir Sarma. They also retain Eleanor and Tony who put up solid performances throughout the year and from my experience playing against them, were definitely being shadowed by Jim's generalist ability. And EP will likely add Anna who showed impressive generalist ability at State and Snow Cat. If Samir's teammates able to cover lit and history, they will definitely have the ability to challenge Wayzata B for their 2nd place spot.

4)Wayzata C: Wayzata C will probably include Sid, Leon and a science player like Sohum Bindra or Ai Xing (or both). This team is very good at history and science but I'm not sure how good they'll be in lit so a lit player could round the team out. If they do get a lit player (or if I'm just wrong and they can cover lit just fine), this team could definitely beat EP A but it really depends on how good Samir's support is.

5)Mounds Park A: Anthony Troullier had a very impressive showing at SSNCT, putting up 34 powers, and if he continues to improve as he did last year, he will be one of the best generalists in state (he probably already is top 7). He will have support from players like Gabe Messner, Zain Ali and Ben Murr. This team looks like they'd perform better at A sets versus IS but if Anthony is able scale up as well as he did at SSNCT, they should be able to do quite well at IS as well.

6)Northfield A: Northfield will likely be led by player Allie who is a very strong RM and a rapidly improving lit player. Quinn, who had a great performance leading the team at ABQL April Tournament, will also be a strong contributor on the team. There definitely is an argument to place this team higher but the lack of play without Owen and the team being better suited for mACF play makes me hesitant to placing them higher.

7)EP B: This team could be really good if Sid does not move to the A team and even if he does Anna will be quite capable at leading EP B. EP has one of the biggest programs in state so I have no doubts they'll be able to fill out the team with solid players.

8)Chaska A: Chaska loses two key members of their A team in Jamie Lyman and Rand Bovard but they retain their highest scorer in Reilly Melville. Reilly is a very good player and a very capable generalist on the easier difficulties played in MN but the rest of his team will be completely new to the A team. The people likely joining him on the A team look quite solid from their stats at Roses (especially Tim Hagen), I'm worried about Reilly shadowing them at tournaments.

9) Minnetonka A: I'm not sure how good their going to be this year but they're a really young team comprising of incoming juniors and sophomores with only one senior. This team had a good performance at JACKPOT. They also improved a lot over last season going from 226 ppg at TRIVIA to 343 at JACKPOT. At Jackpot, they had only 2 less powers and less than 1 less ppg than a complete Chaska A so its possible that I'm under ranking this team. Considering how much they improved and how young they are, they could grow to be a very good team and move up the rankings in the coming season or two.

10) St Paul Academy: Colin Will is a good history player, and is a capable generalist, and he is joined by fellow rising junior, Asa Zirps, and rising sophomores Bridget C and Bridget K. They might be another team that struggles to scale up to the IS level but I expect them to do well on A sets.

I'm sure I missed some teams (and may have omitted some Wayzata teams) but Reilly will probably make a far more detailed post that'll go over them.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

PunaEkka64 wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:36 pm With the season approaching, I've decided to let Reilly take a break from carrying the Minnesota threads and share my thoughts on the Minnesota circuit.
Thanks for doing this! It made my day to come back from a jog and see this post.

I think most what you said is right on point, so I'm not going to be too thorough on the teams you already covered. Without further adieu, here is my preseason analysis.


The Contenders

These are the teams that I think have a claim to being the best in the state.

1. Wayzata A - Ho-hum, nothing to see here. Puna pretty much covered it all.

2. Burnsville A (with Julian) - Today, we learned that Julian Banlao, the architect of Burnsville's run to a state title and national recognition last year, does not plan on playing quiz bowl this year due to eligibility issues and personal conflicts, so this is more of a hypothetical ranking than anything else. However, I think that based off his performance last year, Julian has a legitimate claim to being the best generalist in the state entering this year. I'm not sure about Burnsville's ability to win at a high level (read: beat Wayzata) without Joe and Wyatt, but I feel like Julian has earned the right to have Burnsville ranked here, at least to start. Full-strength Burnsville A is certainly the only Minnesota team that I would give a fighting chance of knocking off Wayzata A at the moment.


The Dark Horses

I have each of these teams a cut below the contenders, but they all still have enough talent to be very dangerous.

3. Wayzata B - Assuming Julian doesn't play, it's reasonable to conclude that the top two teams in the state both reside on Peony Lane. I wouldn't be surprised if Wayzata collects a few 1-2 sweeps this year.

4. Eden Prairie A - Losing Jim was a massive blow for EP, and they graduated several other contributors this summer as well. They'll be fine on science and fine arts (Samir), geo/ce (Tony), and myth/trash (Anna), but (to the best of my knowledge) lack lit and history players. Lit in particular has held Eden Prairie back in recent years, and replacing an elite history player like Jim is a massive task. If EP can find a lit player and cover history at least passably (I think Samir does some history), they could be a really dangerous team.

5. Irondale A - Puna left Irondale off his rankings, but I'm here to tell you that he's being modest and Irondale absolutely belongs in the conversation. They beat Hunter B at HSNCT, for crying out loud! Puna had some issues scaling up at NAQT State, but he also put up 82 PPG and over 2 powers/game at SnowCAT, and his HSNCT performance was respectable. In addition, his teammate Xander Pichner finished last year very strong, outscoring Puna at NAQT State and HSNCT. If Xander continues his surge, Irondale will be a tough team to beat.

6. Wayzata C - Wayzata always finds a way to field a dangerous C team, although the roster tends to vary widely over the course of the season, which makes it difficult to predict its performance. With Ashmit moving out of state, I expect Leon Luo, Cameron Weiner, Sidarth Gazula, Sohum Bindra, Ai Xing, and Vennela Dupati to see time on Wayzata C.


The Midfield

These teams are notable and capable of strong performances, but unlikely to be serious contenders.

7. Mounds Park A - Like Puna said, Mounds Park is pretty much gonna be the Anthony Troullier show now that Isak has graduated. Anthony's shown that he's capable of putting up insane single-game numbers, but with all of MPA's eggs in one basket, they're gonna be really vulnerable if he has a bad game or two.

8. Burnsville A (without Julian) - It feels so wrong ranking Burnsville down here, especially after their Cinderella run last year. However, this year's Burnsville A is probably only going to return Iris Gorton from last year, and while Burnsville has a deep program, I don't think they'll have enough firepower to challenge the top teams this year.

9. Chaska A - Puna's coverage of Chaska is pretty accurate. Although it might not be obvious from stats, losing Rand and Jamie really hurts, not just from a coverage perspective (between them, they did all or most of Chaska's lit, sci, fa, and rmpss last year) but also from a team chemistry standpoint. I've been playing with both of them for the entirety of my high school career (and in Jamie's case, since middle school) and we knew each other's knowledge bases extremely well, to the point where we could make buzzes for each other (a trait honed from Knowledge Bowl). I know my new teammates Tim and Eliana quite well (I've played with both of them since middle school, too), but it'll take some time for us to learn each other's knowledge bases more precisely.
PunaEkka64 wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:36 pm The people likely joining him on the A team look quite solid from their stats at Roses (especially Tim Hagen); I'm worried about Reilly shadowing them at tournaments.
This is a definite concern, particularly with Tim since we're both history mains. I've been trying to pick up lit this summer (Eliana knows lit too), and Tim will help in the RMPSS department. Our main concern entering this year is Chaska's complete lack of a science player (there isn't one in the program). If anyone out there has an extra science player, hit me up! I'll trade you some old Knowledge Bowl trophies in return.

10. Wayzata D - Every year, I leave Wayzata D out of my preseason rankings because I have no idea who's going to be on it, and every year they respond by beating me. I've wised up to this little game, and I'm not going to make the same mistake again. I still have absolutely no clue who is going to be on Wayzata D, but regardless they'll be a tough out of any tournament.


Honorable Mentions

These teams are listed in no particular order.

* Northfield A and Mounds View A both graduated >90% of their scoring this summer but return underclassmen that showed flashes last year (Allie Hoffert and Suhaib Aden).

* Prior Lake A came out of nowhere to make a big splash last fall; they graduated everyone but have a large program to restock from.

* As Puna mentioned, St. Paul Academy A and Minnetonka A both return young players that had solid performances last year. Minnetonka tried several different A team combinations last year; if they can find the right mix they might pull some upsets this year.

* Hudson A, DeLaSalle A, and St. Thomas Academy A are traditionally strong teams that have fallen on hard times as of late, but each of them returns solid contributors from last year.
PunaEkka64 wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:36 pm I'm sure I missed some teams (and may have omitted some Wayzata teams) but Reilly will probably make a far more detailed post that'll go over them.
I probably missed some teams too. If you're reading this and have some knowledge about the Minnesota high school scene you'd like to share, please leave a reply. We'd love to hear from you!

Thanks again for starting the thread, Puna!

Edit: spacing fixes

Edit 2: typo
Last edited by Halinaxus on Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by PunaEkka64 »

7)EP B: This team could be really good if Sid does not move to the A team and even if he does Anna will be quite capable at leading EP B. EP has one of the biggest programs in state so I have no doubts they'll be able to fill out the team with solid players.
Sid graduated.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Serpentine284 »

Alright, while I am technically not a Minnesotan anymore, I guess I can contribute to the Minnesota high school 2021-2022 thread with my own preseason predictions. It's worth noting that a lot of my knowledge about the circuit centered on the 2021 graduating class, so needless to say most of these predictions are pretty up in the air, especially considering that the established top 3 players in the state all graduated. Let's kick it off regardless with:

Top Tier:

Wayzata A: At least in the MN circuit, I still can't really see any team beating Wayzata A. Even with myself and Bryanna graduating, this team will still be fairly strong next year. While I no longer know exactly what Wayzata A will look like next year, I suspect it'll be composed of Nathan Wu (11) as the literature/fine arts player, Emily Liu (12) as the science player, Rick Qian (11) as the history player, and Samarth Ram (11) for geography/additional science. If they can get some solid RMPSS and current events knowledge, this is still likely a top 25 team in the nation.

Upper Tier:

Eden Prairie A: It's a significant jump from having only one team in the top tier, but I think a deserved one. Most of the pre-eminent players in Minnesota graduated this year, so a lot of these teams will likely be in the rebuilding phase. I don't know exactly what the team composition of Eden Prairie will look like, but it's sure to include Samir Sarma (12), a very solid science-based generalist. I suspect Anna Brusilovsky (12) will also be on the team as a resident pop culture and history (?) player. Regardless, I'm sure Eden Prairie has the depth to solidify itself as the 2nd best team in the state.

Wayzata B: At this juncture, I can't tell if Wayzata B or Eden Prairie A will be better next year. My money's on Wayzata B, but I just don't know. This team will regardless still likely be in the top 3 teams in the state this year, barring any surprise breakout performances. It'll probably consist of Aneesh Swaminathan (11) on science, Sidarth Gazula (11) as a generalist, Anuk Dias (12) on literature/fine arts/RMPSS, and probably Sam Buan (12) on history/current events. I don't really know the study habits of some of these players, but this team honestly has the potential to upset Wayzata A.

Irondale A: While I don't really know what each of their players does, Irondale performed pretty well last year as a team with no seniors (I think the only top team in the state to have not graduated players). Led by Puna Ekka (11), this team boasts talent in Xander Pichner (12) and Arnou Thammarak (11). I don't really know much else, but they put up decent numbers last year, so I'm excited to see how well they perform this year.

Wayzata C: Our depth is luckily still quite deep. On Wayzata C, I predict you'll see players like Leon Luo (11) on history and Cameron Weiner (12) on geography/pop culture, although this is definitely not set in stone. As for the literature player, I would guess it will be Ai Xing (11), but I honestly have no clue how good our incoming freshman will be.

Mid-Tier:

Mounds Park A: Anthony Troullier (11) is a prolific generalist who really showcased it throughout the various tournaments this year, capping it off with almost 3 p/g at SSNCT. While this team will certainly miss Isak and I have no idea who else will be joining him, Anthony is likely one of the best generalists in the state this year and I have no doubts he will continue to be dominant.

Chaska A: Chaska will still retain top scorer Reilly Melville (12), which leaves them in a very good spot for next year. I can't comment on the rest of their players (I'm sure Reilly can inform me better on that), but this team will still likely perform well next year.

Wayzata D: Definitely cannot comment on who will be on this team, I have zero idea, but judging by the depth of our bench, I'd assume it'll still be a very good team.

Northfield A: Despite Owen Riley, Northfield's star breakout player last year, graduating, he left behind a decently strong club. Both Allie Hoffert (10) and Quinn Lovick (10) supported him well throughout this past year, and judging by their enthusiasm for Quiz Bowl, I have no doubt that this team will still perform admirably without Owen.

I think that about caps it off. I will quickly note that I did not include Burnsville A on this list, but that is entirely dependent on whether or not Julian Banlao (12) will be playing this year, as he has commented that he might not have the time or eligibility to do so. If he is playing, I would probably put Burnsville in the upper tier as well. Regardless, I look forward to seeing how this season plays out, and I wish everyone participating the best of luck this upcoming year!
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by PunaEkka64 »

I created a preseason poll. The poll requires all 10 spots to be filled and honorable mentions are available (but not required). Justifications aren't required but are recommended. Please use the full names of the teams and their team letter (eg, Eden Prairie A rather than EP or EP A). The poll can be found here: https://forms.gle/EnZZ5fNDHXFtYrco7

The poll closes at 11:55 pm on September 10th.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by PunaEkka64 »

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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

Cross-posted from the Discord:

'Twas the night before quiz bowl, and all through the state
Not a creature was stirring, not even the PK bot;

The buzzers were stacked by the door with care,
In hopes that the players soon would be there;

The freshmen were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of powers danced in their heads;

And Hentzel in his suit, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long competition season,

When out of the room there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the computer I flew like a flash,
Tore open the lid and threw up the email.

The rainbow on the breast of the Gmail logo,
Gave a lustre of midday to conversations below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But an email from MQBA and eight tiny RSVPs,

With a little old font so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be from Hentzel.

More rapid than Wayzata on A sets the teams they came,
And we whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Wayzata! now, EP! now Burnsville and Chaska!
On, Northfield! on, Irondale! on, Mounds Park and Mounds View!

To the top of the packet! to the top of the tossups!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As teams that before the dark morning sky,
When they meet with a bonus, let the 30s fly;

So up to Burnsville the teams they flew
With the sacks full of buzzers, and their brains too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard in the parking lot
The prancing and pawing of each school bus.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the staircase R. Hentzel came with a bound.

He was dressed all in black, from his head to his foot,
And his suit was all shiny with a red tie to boot;

A bundle of questions he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the dark beard on his chin was in stark contrast to the snow;

The stump of a microphone he held tight in his hands,
And the audio, it circled precisely where it wasn’t supposed to go;

He had a broad face and a mask the color of raspberry
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was happy and cheery, a right jolly old quizzer,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had a bracket not to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And handed out all the schedules; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his mask,
And giving a nod, into the stats room he passed;

He sprang to his computer, to the mods gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere I moved out of sight—
“Merry quiz bowl to all, and to all a good night!”
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by PunaEkka64 »

I created a midseason poll. It's similar to the preseason poll with 10 required spots for teams and spots for honorable mentions and justifications that aren't required etc. The poll can be found here: https://forms.gle/vxmk6yRSHxr8v8DAA

The poll closes on January 2nd at 11:59.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

It seems we've been doing a terrible job of keeping this thread alive; until Puna's poll announcement there hadn't been a post here since before SOCIAL, and we've now played all the fall 2021 MN tournaments with the completion of RAT-RACE this weekend. As we hunker down in our caves for the winter, I figured I should put together a mid-season update, so here it is.

First, let me comment on how awesome it is to be back in person. MQBA and MNHSQBL did an incredible job running online tournaments last year, but there's nothing like playing in the same room as the other team on actual buzzers. Hopefully we can keep it that way for the rest of the year.

With BenELO (the official ELO rating service of Minnesota high school quiz bowl) currently undergoing some renovations, I threw together some ratings of my own for this post. My system is far inferior to BenELO (among other things, it's a lot more variable because I only used data from this year), but it worked well enough to give me what I wanted, which were March Madness-style quadrants. There are 97 MN teams this year, so quadrant 1 consisted of the current top 24.

Note that in the analysis below, when I refer to "quad 1 record," I mean win-loss record against teams in the top 24 of my ELO ratings (excluding games played at RAT-RACE).


1. Wayzata A

ELO: 1785 (1st)
Quad 1 record: 22-3
Overall record: 43-4

Wayzata A had an inauspicious start to the campaign, dropping a pair of games to Eden Prairie A at SOCIAL before shockingly losing to Hudson A at Gopher Fall. However, excepting RAT-RACE, they're undefeated since that Hudson loss, including a dominant GINVIT showing where they won their closest game by well over 200 points. This year's Wayzata A looks a little less insane than past teams, but they're still the top team in Minnesota by a sizable margin.


2. Wayzata B

ELO: 1711 (2nd)
Quad 1 record: 18-5
Overall record: 39-6

Wayzata B actually started the year 17-0 before Irondale nipped them at Gopher Fall. I considered ranking Eden Prairie A here, but then realized that Wayzata B is 4-0 against EP so far in addition to having similar or better stats at every tournament. Wayzata B has dropped games to Irondale and Mounds Park (EP hasn't), but that 4-0 head-to-head mark against Eden Prairie A keeps Wayzata B squarely at #2 in my book.


3. Eden Prairie A

ELO: 1650 (4th)
Quad 1 record: 13-7
Overall record: 32-8

Excepting RAT-RACE, Eden Prairie A has yet to lose to anyone other than Wayzata A or B, and EP ended up winning RAT-RACE. Samir has stepped into Jim's shoes nicely as a generalist (he might be the early favorite for the top player in MN), and his teammates have provided decent (if unspectacular) support. Let's not forget that they beat Wayzata A twice at SOCIAL, too. The big question for Eden Prairie A is if they can beat Wayzata A and B on regular difficulty, which is the main thing holding them back right now.


4. Irondale A

ELO: 1670 (3rd)
Quad 1 record: 14-9
Overall record: 28-9

Irondale A checks in at #4, sporting a nice win over Wayzata B at Gopher Fall to go along with consistently strong stats. Puna continues to put up very high numbers and get solid support from his teammates. As with most generalist-led teams, though, Irondale does look vulnerable whenever Puna has a bad game. I think the gap between Eden Prairie and Irondale is larger than the one between Wayzata B and EP.


5. Mounds Park A

ELO: 1628 (5th)
Quad 1 record: 7-8
Overall record: 27-9

Mounds Park A has performed similarily to Irondale, as they also sport a win over Wayzata B that led to their runner-up finish at GINVIT. Anthony did well at his only regular difficulty tournament so far (GINVIT) and has rapidly improved over the past few years, so if he keeps getting better Mounds Park could challenge Irondale and even EP by the end of the year.


6. Hudson A

ELO: 1548 (10th)
Quad 1 record: 5-12
Overall record: 24-15

This is my first hot take. Hudson A's stats are pretty pedestrian, but take them with a grain of salt because they've been playing shorthanded most of the year. And, of course, they pulled one of the biggest upsets of the past few years by defeating Wayzata A at Gopher Fall. If they get their whole team together, Hudson could be a really strong dark horse team this year.


7. St. Paul Academy A

ELO: 1580 (7th)
Quad 1 record: 4-0
Overall record: 16-2

Here's another one I definitely didn't see coming at the beginning of the year. St. Paul Academy shockingly sits 8-0 and on top of the North/East league division with wins over Irondale and Mounds Park, and they just reached the final four at RAT-RACE (where they didn't lose a game in regulation the entire day). It remains to be seen how St. Paul Academy will perform against the state's top teams on harder questions, but it's safe to say they're having a better start than most people predicted.


8. Chaska A

ELO: 1544 (11th)
Quad 1 record: 2-2
Overall record: 11-4

Another year, another inconsistent Chaska A. After a terrible 0-2 start to league play, we now sit at a much better 6-2, and I was pleased by our RAT-RACE performance as well. Chaska boasts a league PPB of 21.56, which sits only .01 behind Wayzata B, and our 30 powers are pretty solid, too. I've definitely turned a corner as far as generalism is concerned, and Tim and Eliana have stepped up to replace the production we lost when Rand and Jamie graduated last summer. My main concern right now is that our inability to reliably convert tossups (which reared its ugly head last year) is still an issue. We lost to Prior Lake A despite winning the PPB battle 24-13 and nearly did the same vs. Rosemount A. Ultimately, I think we'll need a much larger sample size to accurately gauge how good Chaska A will be this year.


9. Minnetonka A

ELO: 1568 (8th)
Quad 1 record: 5-8
Overall record: 15-9

Minnetonka A is an interesting case because they chose to play in the (much weaker) online league division this year. However, they attended both Gopher Fall and GINVIT (and made the top bracket in each), so they have a track record of success on harder questions. I don't think Minnetonka has the firepower to seriously challenge the teams above them right now, but this is still a very young program with some promising talent.


10. Wayzata C

ELO: 1586 (6th)
Quad 1 record: 4-9
Overall record: 28-13

It's been a down year so far for Wayzata depth by their lofty standards, but the Trojans still boast a C team capable of fielding strong specialists on every subject and knocking off anyone in the midfield. This is another team no one wants to play when they have a full lineup (something they haven't had much this year).


Honorable Mentions

Edina A received a huge spark when former Chaska coach Jennifer Stone took over their program this fall. They attended their first Saturday tournament in over 8 years at SOCIAL and have been a force at league as well. Freshman Jack O'Brien is going to be a really good player in a few years.

Rosemount A has also surprised at league, nearly beating Wayzata B. Drew Wetterlind caught fire last Thursday and nearly took down full-strength Chaska A despite little support; if Rosemount gets their entire A team together again they could win a game or two in the playoffs.

Prior Lake A rebounded very nicely from graduating most of their top players to pick up a great win over Wayzata B at league. Unfortunately, it seems logistical problems are going to keep them from attending Saturday tournaments this year.

It's been a down year depth-wise for Eden Prairie too, but their B team still has solid, experienced players on it. Eden Prairie B is another team capable of knocking off higher-ranked squads on any set.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

The forums thread has been sadly neglected again, so with league playoffs coming up tomorrow I decided to post my predictions here. Prior Lake, St. Louis Park, and Benilde-St. Margaret's have yet to be placed into the bracket, but I'm confident enough in the Discord's collective codebreaking skills that I think I know where Hentzel plans on seeding them (shout-out to Puna for cracking the seeding system).

Round 1

(1) Wayzata over (16) Apple Valley
(9) Chaska over (8) Rosemount
(5) Irondale over (12) Saint Agnes
(4) Eden Prairie over (13) DeLaSalle
(3) St. Paul Academy over (14) Benilde-St. Margaret's
(11) Hudson over (6) Prior Lake
(7) St. Louis Park over (10) Chanhassen
(2) Minnetonka over (15) Mounds View

Round 2

(1) Wayzata over (9) Chaska
(4) Eden Prairie over (5) Irondale
(3) St. Paul Academy over (11) Hudson
(2) Minnetonka over (7) St. Louis Park
(8) Rosemount over (16) Apple Valley
(13) DeLaSalle over (12) Saint Agnes
(6) Prior Lake over (14) Benilde-St. Margaret's
(10) Chanhassen over (15) Mounds View

Round 3

(1) Wayzata over (4) Eden Prairie
(2) Minnetonka over (3) St. Paul Academy
(8) Rosemount over (7) St. Louis Park
(11) Hudson over (13) DeLaSalle
(5) Irondale over (6) Prior Lake
(9) Chaska over (10) Chanhassen

Round 4

(1) Wayzata over (2) Minnetonka
(4) Eden Prairie over (8) Rosemount
(3) St. Paul Academy over (11) Hudson
(5) Irondale over (9) Chaska

Round 5

(4) Eden Prairie over (3) St. Paul Academy
(5) Irondale over (2) Minnetonka

Round 6

(4) Eden Prairie over (5) Irondale
(3) St. Paul Academy over (2) Minnetonka

Round 7

(1) Wayzata over (4) Eden Prairie

Final Standings

1. Wayzata (5-0)
2. Eden Prairie (5-2)
3. Irondale (4-2)
4. St. Paul Academy (4-2)
5. Minnetonka (3-3)
T-6. Chaska (2-2)
T-6. Hudson (2-2)
T-6. Rosemount (2-2)
T-9. Chanhassen (1-2)
T-9. DeLaSalle (1-2)
T-9. Prior Lake (1-2)
T-9. St. Louis Park (1-2)
T-13. Apple Valley (0-2)
T-13. Benilde-St. Margaret's (0-2)
T-13. Mounds View (0-2)
T-13. Saint Agnes (0-2)

Good luck everyone!
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Scone »

Playoffs happened!

Wayzata is good at quizbowl. However, St. Louis Park and St. Paul Academy revealed that they, too, are good at quizbowl.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

As usual, we've been doing a terrible job of keeping the forums thread going this year, so here's my analysis of the six Minnesota teams playing at SSNCT tomorrow (all in the open division).

Mounds Park returns everyone who played on the team that tied for eleventh at SSNCT last year, including an even-better Anthony Troullier fresh off a 4.2 P/G performance at NAQT State. Anthony's had an extremely impressive year despite getting minimal support, and unlike last year he's had no problems demolishing regular difficulty questions in addition to A sets. As with most lopsided teams, the big concern with Mounds Park is bonus conversion. At both Run for the Roses and NAQT State, MPA's PPB was a cut below the top tier of teams, and they even had a game at NAQT State with a PPB of 8.89 over a not-insignificant sample size of 9 bonuses. Still, I expect Mounds Park to win multiple playoff games and finish around where they did last year.

St. Paul Academy was one of this year's breakout teams, going undefeated to win the east division at league, and they showed they can handle regs with their impressive third place finish at the league playoffs. SPA was also very impressive at RAT-RACE, where they didn't lose a game in regulation en route to taking fourth place. However, their best player, Colin Will, didn't attend any other tournaments this year, so it's a little hard to get a grasp on just how good they are. A shorthanded St. Paul Academy team did place third at SnowCAT, but with uninspiring stats. SPA missed the playoffs at SSNCT last year, but that was with Colin playing barely half of their games, and both he and Asa Zirps have clearly improved since then. I think St. Paul Academy makes it to Sunday this year.

Providence A and Providence B are making their SSNCT debuts, as they have traditionally attended only HSNCT. The Lions only came to league and Roses this year, and their school hasn't played regular difficulty questions since before COVID. However, they have shown flashes of talent, taking solid Minnetonka and Hudson teams to the wire at Roses and knocking off Eden Prairie B at league. I don't think either Providence team will be able to make the playoffs, but both should win a couple of games.

Rounding out the Minnesota teams are Parnassus Prep A and Parnassus Prep B. This will likely be the last high school tournament for both Sophia Theis and Jack Teske, who have been providing most of the scoring for Parnassus this year. I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but Parnassus also only attended two tournaments this year (RAT-RACE and Roses), so it's hard to predict how they'll perform at SSNCT. Sophia and Jack are both very solid players with a ton of quiz bowl experience (combined, they've attended eight NAQT national championships); while on paper Parnassus Prep A probably isn't a playoff team, I think their experience gives them a shot at one more run.

Good luck to all six Minnesota teams tomorrow!
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

I was going to make a mid-SSNCT post, but I got home from work really late last night and then had an appointment this morning, so I'm going to combine it into my wrap-up analysis. The Minnesota teams did about as well as expected, with three of them tying for eleventh.

Mounds Park got off to a hot start by taking down Alabama Cyber Tech on the strength of a 6/2/0 performance by Anthony. Later in the morning, though, they suffered a pair of tight losses to Parnassus Prep A and Sacramento Country Day in games where he ran into neg issues. MPA rebounded very nicely from those upsets, winning their last five preliminary games (including a very nice victory over Tower HIll) to finish yesterday 8-2. Unfortunately, they got an unlucky playoff draw, sandwiching a quality win over University School of Nashville between tight losses to Early College at Guilford A and St. Mark's School of Texas B (the latter of which ended up finishing third). Overall, Mounds Park turned in a very solid performance, especially given the difficult schedule they faced. They will now turn their attention to HSNCT, where MPA will again be a tough out due to Anthony's strong generalism.

St. Paul Academy also went 8-2 yesterday, cruising past most of their opponents save eventual champion St. Mark's School of Texas A. Negs proved to be their undoing in the playoffs, but they did notch a pair of wins today to match Mounds Park's tie for eleventh place. SPA is also playing HSNCT next month, and the Colin-Asa duo is only getting better. They are very well-positioned for the next couple of years.

Parnassus Prep A definitely exceeded expectations this weekend, riding an upset of Mounds Park to a 7-3 Saturday record that got them to the playoffs with a game to spare. Although Sophia and Jack had to do a lot of heavy lifting, they both played admirably, and Zoriona Miller chipped in nicely to give Parnassus a playoff win over a Winchester Thurston squard that was 8-2 in the prelims. The ride eventually came to an end vs. Nate Kang and St. Margaret's Episcopal, but it was a very fitting ending for two of the players that helped found Parnassus' quiz bowl team way back in early 2017. Next year will be a rebuilding year, but the players on Parnassus Prep B (which went 2-8) will all return, in addition to the middle schoolers that won the seventh grade division at DIATOMS earlier this year.

Providence A and Providence B were each without some of their better players, which probably torpedoed their chances of making the playoffs. Still, it's great to see them attending nationals again, and they have some talented young players (at both the high school and middle school levels). Hopefully they'll continue to be a consistent program.

Overall, I think the six Minnesota teams performed admirably, particularly Parnassus Prep A. One thing I kept noticing when looking at stats is the youth of these teams. Neither Mounds Park nor St. Paul Academy graduates any seniors this summer, and Parnassus Prep and Providence both have successful middle school programs to draw from. MPA and SPA in particular might be able to make deep playoff runs next year. Great job to all the Minnesotans who played this weekend!
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by PunaEkka64 »

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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by cchiego »

I came across an interesting set of recent Meeting Minutes from a Minnesota Knowledge Bowl coaches meeting in March 2022 on the Southwest West Central Service Cooperative's website:
There have been a lot of conversations about the question vendor again this year. The Regional Coordinators voted last week to award the contract to Academic Hallmark with a lot of stipulations. We are hopeful that the issues with duplicate questions and questionable questions will be resolved. SWWC will provide questions for all Region 8 invitationals and the Region 6 invitationals who request them.
One would think that the Minnesota Knowledge Bowl coordinators would simply go with NAQT speedcheck, TV, and/or IS-A sets, which would entirely eliminate the need for "a lot of stipulations" from a vendor that has known issues and would almost certainly provide a better experience for all the students playing on said questions. That option, however, seems to not be under consideration. Perhaps though there's an opening for more outreach from pyramidal quizbowl again in MN as some Knowledge Bowl coaches seem to be tired of the "duplicate" and "questionable" questions.
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Re: Minnesota 2021-22

Post by Halinaxus »

cchiego wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 2:22 pm One would think that the Minnesota Knowledge Bowl coordinators would simply go with NAQT speedcheck, TV, and/or IS-A sets, which would entirely eliminate the need for "a lot of stipulations" from a vendor that has known issues and would almost certainly provide a better experience for all the students playing on said questions. That option, however, seems to not be under consideration. Perhaps though there's an opening for more outreach from pyramidal quizbowl again in MN as some Knowledge Bowl coaches seem to be tired of the "duplicate" and "questionable" questions.
The KB people have generally been against using NAQT questions because they tend to be far more expensive than lower-quality sources like Academic Hallmarks (gee, I wonder why). There's a state-wide committee (or something) that deals with this sort of thing, and the Chaska coaches have been sending them info on pyramidal questions for the past few years, to apparently no avail.

I remember there was an effort made by NAQT just before COVID that seemed to have a chance of succeeding, when Academic Hallmarks' original founder was retiring. However, that puttered out (presumably, COVID had something to do with it). Maybe this would be a good time to send in the big guns again.
Reilly Melville
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