WEST POINT, Ala. – West Point High School will compete in the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence (PACE) National Scholastic Championship (NSC), June 7-8, in Rosemont, Illinois.
PACE Director of Communications Harry White shared that West Point qualified by winning a quizbowl tournament hosted at Tusculum University by finishing with an undefeated 9-0 record.
“To be able to qualify, a team must finish in the top 20% of a local event, which means that those that compete have already proven that they are among the elite in terms of quizbowl ability and knowledge of science, literature, history and the arts,” White said. “Teams will typically prepare by playing practice matches using questions from previous NSCs, or even from collegiate tournaments. Many people study individually using flash cards, or they might research and write their own questions to be used at practice.”
He said it takes a lot of dedication and effort to be a nationally competitive team, and typically these students have and develop an insatiable level of intellectual curiosity.
“West Point will play 14-16 games over two days of competition against other elite teams from across the country,” White said. “They are bringing back their entire roster from last year’s NSC, where they finished 43rd out of a total of 72 teams, so this year they are aiming to improve on last year’s finish. Senior Brodie Henry, in particular, had a standout performance, as he tied for the 26th-best individual performance out of 295 total competitors. The experience of playing in the NSC gives them the chance to compete against schools from all across the country, experience Chicago and also meet and interact with other driven and talented high school quizbowl players.”
According to the NSC, quizbowl is a buzzer-based academic competition played between two teams of up to four players. Questions cover a wide range of academic topics including literature, history, science and the arts. Quizbowl is played by high school students all across the United States.
WPHS Scholars Bowl/Quizbowl Coach Lee Henry said West Point’s team has had an amazing few years, but none as successful as this one.
“We won the ASCA State Championship for the third straight year,” Henry said. “We won our 13th County Championship in a row. To top it all off, we won the NAQT SSNCT National Championship. The team has been led for the past several years by my son, Brodie Henry. He will be joined in Chicago for the PACE NSC by fellow seniors John Davis Yovino and Eli Taylor, as well as junior Sean Harbison. This will be the last time the seniors compete in high school and I’m hoping we can go out with another strong showing. Regardless, they are state and national champions. Coaching them has been an incredible honor and they are a testament to hard work and dedication. They decided many years ago that they would win a national title. That’s a very lofty goal, but they worked hard and made it happen.”
Cullman County Schools Superintendent Dr. Shane Barnette said he is extremely proud of the West Point students who have been invited to compete in this competition.
“West Point has a rich tradition of excellence and this is another example,” Barnette said. “Cullman County Schools’ motto is Excellent Educational Experiences for Everyone Every Day.’ West Point High School’s participation in this competition displays the work to reach for excellence. I wish the teachers and students good luck and hope they will win this competition.”
The NSC, now in its 27th iteration, brings together the top high school quizbowl teams from all across the country. They will compete over two days of matches for the ultimate title of national champion. This year, 84 teams from 21 states and Washington, D.C. will compete in the NSC. To qualify for the NSC, teams must finish in the top 20% of local affiliated tournaments.
Copyright 2025 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
