Centennial Advances to the National History Bowl Competition

Words: Delanie Tucker

Photos Contributed by: Cynthia Dillon

On Saturday, December 1, five teams from Centennial High School participated in the National History Bowl Regional Championship, held in Washington, D.C. Of the five teams, teams A and B were Varsity, while teams C, D, and E were Junior Varsity.

A total of 41 teams attended the competition, ranging from elementary school to high school.

Centennial’s A Team came in second place, earning a finalist trophy and a spot in the National History Bowl Competition. This team consisted of Anthony Duan, team captain, Peter Wilschke, and Mahta Gooya.

The second place slot did not come from a lack of trying, though, as the A Team placed higher than Richard Montgomery High, Montgomery Blair High, Georgetown Day School, and two teams from Thomas Jefferson High before falling to McLean High in the final match.

In addition to the varsity team’s success, the C Team, made up of Pingan Tang, Nathan Ho, and Benjamin Kantsiper, also qualified for the National Tournament.

Duan and Tang also advanced to the finals of the JV History Bee in 2019.

Beyond the high school teams, Burleigh Manor Middle School won in the middle school division, beating Centennial Lane Elementary School in the finals.

Six of the eight playoff teams were from Burleigh Manor or Centennial Lane.

The National History Bowl Competition will be held in April 2019.