On Monday, March 2, four White Station students walked into the WREG-TV studio, glanced past the cameras and settled behind the podiums. As they were taped, the Spartans went toe-to-toe with their opponents, seeking to buzz in with the correct answer first. Three rounds later, White Station’s Knowledge Bowl team defeated Collierville High School and clinched the championship title– along with a $7,500 scholarship each. 

Knowledge Bowl features single-elimination rounds, meaning that the champions needed to win all five of their matches. They won against Oxford High School, Central Hill High School, Memphis University School, Lausanne Collegiate and Collierville High School. 

“[Our closet game] was MUS,” Raj Gosain (10) said. “It didn’t help that we had [to name] Spider-Man voice actors.”

Although the trivia questions may be about current events, geography, math, history or literature, the team has been expected to know about obscure topics as well.

“We had a pop quiz… and we had one about cultural dances from different countries, and it was pretty difficult,” Gino Giorgianni (11) said.  

Since Knowledge Bowl requires a team effort, the competitors learned how to build off each other’s strengths and also step back when necessary.

“I found it a lot harder earlier in high school to let other people answer,” Dominic Reynolds (12) said. “I was genuinely hurt sometimes during games–when you know the answer and you let someone else answer because they’re better at the subject, but it generally makes the team work better together.”

Although all competitors must pull their own weight, Captain Aryaman Jaiswal (12) emphasizes the strength of member Gideon Kpurubu.

“Gideon’s the one,” Jaiswal said. “He has saved us more times than we can count.”

For the team, winning money wasn’t the most memorable aspect; it was competing itself.

“My favorite moment was when we were in the MUS match, and then Gideon went off on a paragraph about a question,” Gosain said. 

Because the team has competed in countless rounds, they have forged a bond through having fun yet staying focused on TV.

“The team building is the most helpful part,” Jaiswal said. “I haven’t had a crew like this where I know their strengths and weaknesses so well… Every time we competed it felt like we all understood what was right in terms of who gets what and who not to trample over. It felt really good.”