Click to view the album on Flickr.com. Photos by Michael Huettl ’23, Aadit Pande ’23, Dinah Megibow-Tayor ’24, and Gabe Harvey ’25.
As the second day of Spirit Week wrapped up, the juniors extended their lead in a nail-biting Quiz Bowl competition that came down to the final question.
This year’s categories were quite versatile but retained the MFS Quiz Bowl staples, which are Quakerism and D.E.I.B. (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging). The other categories were Nouns: Not So Simple After All, Math History, Netflix & Fill in the Blank, and Found in the Bible.
For most of the competition, the seniors seemed to have the win in their grasp. Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon ’23 stated, “We really exceeded expectations in certain categories, but the final question is what ultimately got us.” Rodwell-Simon was a huge contributor to the seniors’ success throughout the game.
Nouns: Not So Simple After All proved to be a challenging category for every grade, as a hush fell over each table in the Dining Hall before hesitant answers were given, one being “antecedent,” answered correctly by Sophia Lalani ’25.
The Found in the Bible category also proved to stump teams at times. Daniel Sorokin ’23 said he was proud of the seniors’ performance but noted that the Bible section was tricky for them: “I thought we did good with what we had, but the Bible section was harder for us and for the other grades.”
Though the ninth graders came in last place, team member Zaydan Lalani said: “I think we did a lot better than the points show,” and said the team will be more prepared for next year’s competition.
The juniors were behind the seniors for most of the competition, but they risked only 250 points for the final question, (What was the name of the river where Jesus was born?), which paid off. Sahaila Desai ’24 talked about their strategy: “Our group didn’t know much about the Bible, and since the last question was a Bible-related question, we decided to wager a small number of our points. We never had any doubt that we would win.”
The winning Quiz Bowl team, but before their win: (L-R) Alicia Leung ’24, Himanshu Sahore ’24, Sahaila Desai ’24, and Avani Verma ’24. Photo by Gabe Harvey ’25.
With the Juniors coming out on top, the Seniors in second place, and the sophomores and ninth graders in third and fourth places respectively, the grades still stand within 150 points of each other.
The headliner event, Tug-of-War, will take place on the fields Wednesday, October 19, where the standings could very well be shaken.
Quiz Bowl Teams
Seniors: Jaylen Patel, Shriya Reddy, Nathaniel Rodwell-Simon, Daniel Sorokin
Juniors: Sahaila Desai, Alicia Leung, Himanshu Sahore, Avani Verma
Sophomores: Maya DeAndrea, Luke Iacono, Sophia Lalani, Vikram Verma
Ninth Graders: Ethan Cohen, Zaydan Lalani, Livia Kam, Makenna Wakahia
Quiz Bowl Scores
Seniors: 2nd (75 pts.)
Juniors: 1st (100 pts.)
Sophomores: 3rd (50 pts.)
Ninth Graders: 4th (25 pts.)
