SHS Performs Well at State History Quiz Bowl in Seward at Living Water Lutheran Church

October 21, 2024

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The two Seward High teams participated in the recent History Quiz Bowl in Seward did very well considering they were with many Class A Schools in the Large School Division of the contest.  The Large School Division was won by Elkhorn High North.  Seward had two teams in the contest… Team A: Amelia Juranek, Kennedy Duncan and Alex Pliefke and Team B: Izayah Lavicky, Landen Ford and Liam Krahulik. They were coached by SHS Educator Melissa Pohl-SHS Quiz Bowl Sponsor.

GFWC Nebraska Federation of Women’s Club’s hosted the State History Quiz Bowl in Seward at Living Water Lutheran Church on Wednesday, October 16^th in an all-day Quiz Bowl event featuring questions based only on History and Geography. The Quiz Bowl hosted 50 teams of high school students from across Nebraska.

The event featured a “Round Robin” feature in the morning, where each team played three rounds in a warm-up for the afternoon’s single elimination tourney.  The event was divided into three levels-Large, Medium and Small Schools. The teams competed in 15-minute rounds, generating points and wins to achieve the top seed bracket for the afternoon tournament.

Winners of the History Quiz Bowl included...

Small School-First: Exeter Milligan HS-Coach Jordan Marr, Second: Clarkson HS-Coach Sid Ready, Third: Heartland Lutheran/Grand Island HS-Coach Jackie Zehendner, Fourth: Wilber Clatonia HS-Coach Ellie Binder.

Medium School-First: Central City HS-Coach Brandon Wright, Second-Kearney Catholic HS-Coach Polla Renken, Third-Cross County HS at Stromsburg-Coach Johanna Nielsen, Fourth: Raymond Central HS-Coach Courtney Polak.

Large School: First: Elkhorn North HS-Coach Melissa Petersen, Second: Elkhorn HS-Coach Molly Erickson, Third: Elkhorn South HS-Coach Abby Cleary, Fourth: Gretna East HS-Coach Jami Adelman.

The winning school received a Championship Trophy, and each team member also was presented with a ribbon and medal by their coaches.  The First Runner-up team also received a winner’s trophy-with the trophies and medals sponsored and donated by the GFWC NFWC. They were presented by GFWC NFWC representatives Diane Uher of Clarkson and Bernie Baumert of Howells.

Schools involved included Elkhorn, Elkhorn North, Elkhorn South, Gretna, Creighton Prep, Norris, Seward, Gretna East, York, Ralston, Central City, Fillmore Central, Cross County, Raymond Central, Milford, West Point, Oakland-Craig, Kearney Catholic, Heartland Lutheran of GI, Heartland-Henderson, Hampton, Shelby-Rising City, Exeter Milligan, Dorchester, Howells-Dodge, Clarkson, Fullerton, and Wilber Clatonia.

The volunteer readers/judges for the History Quiz Bowl were Sue Imig, Andy Jensen, Nancy Schulz, and Clark Kolterman -all from Seward, Kathy Wilcox from Crete, Nancy Meyer from Geneva, Ellie Janda from Beaver Crossing, Jenni Erhart from Osceola and Laura Sabata from Fullerton.  There were nine rooms of competition going at one time all day long!

The GFWC Seward Woman’s Club hosted the pizza luncheon for the coaches and judges during the event-chaired by Ellen Chaffin.  Riley Nuttleman of Seward was the Quiz Master for the event, with Clark Kolterman of Seward serving as the coordinator.  Diane Uher of GFWC Clarkson Woman’s Club is the GFWC NFWC Quiz Bowl State Chair for 2024-2026 and she hosted the front-line registration table along with Bernie Baumert of the GFWC Howells Woman’s Club.  Pastor Scott Krohn of Living Word Lutheran Church served as the local contact for the host church at the event.

It should be noted that many of the teams in this tourney were sponsored by their local GFWC Woman’s Club-who paid the entry fee for their school’s Quiz Bowl team for this GFWC NFWC tourney as a community service and youth program/project.  Any extra profits generated from this History Quiz Bowl will be used for the GFWC NFWC “USA 250” projects and programs in 2026, when the US celebrates their 250th Birthday!

For more information on the various Quiz Bowl events, contact Diane Uher in Clarkson-the GFWC NFWC Quiz Bowl Chair at dluher72@gmail.com or call 401-469-5505.

Photo: Left to Right: … Team A: Amelia Juranek, Kennedy Duncan and Alex Pliefke and Team B: Izayah Lavicky, Landen Ford and Liam Krahulik. They were coached by SHS Educator Melissa Pohl-SHS Quiz Bowl Sponsor.