On Saturday, Jan. 18, Greenhill students competed at the first Dallas-area high school Quiz Bowl tournament of the year. The competition was hosted by the Cistercian Preparatory School at St. Rita Catholic School.   

Greenhill fielded four separate teams, two of them comprised of middle school students.   

“Each match consists of 20 toss-up and bonus cycles where players answer individually on toss-ups to earn points and a chance at a three-part bonus question, collaborating as a team,” Upper School Math teach and Quiz Bowl Coach Jason Zuffranieri said.    

In the junior varsity division, Greenhill D, consisting of seniors Itamar Friedman, Mayer Sidikaro, Garrett Koerner and Tal Rogozinski, secured a 2-8 record, including two wins against the Hockaday School.

“I really enjoy being a part of the team even though I am not the best,” Koerner said. “[Quiz Bowl] is one of the things that I wish I had picked up earlier in school.”  

Zuffranieri says he enjoys seeing the senior players grow and having fun with the challenge.  

 “We are always happy to take on more people if they are interested in this sort of thing,” Zuffranieri said. “It is meant to be fun.”   

Greenhill B and C, consisting of middle school students, competed in the varsity division and finished seventh and ninth. Additionally, Greenhill B defeated the eventual tournament champions, Greenhill A.    

“They really stood their ground in a predominantly high school tournament,” Zuffranieri said.    

Greenhill A, with junior Ayan Thombre, sophomore Henry Lipnik and freshman Tomal Khan, defeated the St. Mark’s School of Texas A and B teams, earning first place with a near-perfect 10-1 record. Thombre and Khan were the team’s top scoreers, with Khan leading at 87.22 points per game.    

Following this tournament, Zuffranieri expressed pride in both the seniors and the middle school teams.

“Greenhill A went undefeated except for losing to one of [our] middle school teams, which is pretty remarkable,” Zuffranieri said.