Haverford team takes national Hi-Q championship
MORTON >> Haverford High School, the 2017 Delco Hi-Q Champions, won its second-ever National Hi-Q Championship in a competitive contest against high school champions from Alabama, Wisconsin and Washington. Teams from Monroe, Wash., Peshtigo, Wis., and Davidson, Ala., competed against Delco’s Haverford team for the national crown via video-conference Thursday at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit in Morton. They had the huge task of defending the title won by last year’s Delco Hi-Q champs, Garnet Valley.
The national championship meet was similar to all Hi-Q meets in scope, scoring and subject matter. Teams answered a total of 16 questions, including tossup sports, math, and team choice with the twist of competing over the Internet. Delco Hi-Q Director Rick Durante started the match with greetings from the Keystone State before turning over the program to longtime Quizmaster Tom McCarthy. McCarthy presided over the very first National Championship in 1981 when Pennsylvania hosted teams from Ohio, Wisconsin and Washington. Haverford prevailed that year and did it again using modern video-conference technology.
It didn’t take long for teams to get used to watching each other on a big screen while four different Quizmasters posed questions. All four teams started strong with correct answers across the board in Current Events. Golfer Se Ri Pak was the answer to a tough Sports question and Haverford was the only team to provide the correct answer. Those four points gave them the lead in the middle of the first half. Monroe was close behind but Haverford took off and never looked back. At the half, Haverford was ahead with 30 points, Davidson was in second with 24, and Monroe and Peshtigo were in a third place tie with 20 points apiece.
Haverford went on to have a strong second half, only missing the Physics question. By the time the last question was posed to teams in Math, Haverford had already secured first place to keep the national title in Pennsylvania while the other three teams battled for positions. The final score was Haverford, 58; Davidson, 40; Peshtigo, 36; and Monroe, 28.
DCIU hosted a reception for the teams in the adjacent Delco Hi-Q Hall of Honor where the team had a chance to reflect on its two championships amongst the photos of some of Delco Hi-Q’s prestigious past contestants.
Faculty advisor David McCauley has been coaching the team for 14 years. Team members were Emma Davies, Pryce Davies, Quinn Gallagher, Jacob Kaufhold, Amy Kushlan, Peter Martin, Jack McGovern, Elliot Miciek, Stephan Mittleman, and Isabel Weir.
Haverford advanced to the national level after securing the Delco Hi-Q title last month in a match against this year’s finalists Radnor and defending Delco Hi-Q and National Champions Garnet Valley.
This year’s Delco Hi-Q and National Hi-Q Champions will be honored along with all the Delco Hi-Q teams at the annual Partners in Education Celebration, Thursday, April 27, at Drexelbrook Corporate Events Center in Drexel Hill. More information about Delco Hi-Q, Partners in Education, and the annual Celebration can be found at PartnersInEducationFoundation.org