Best Debut Performances?
Best Debut Performances?
Reading the Greatest Upsets thread has got me thinking.
What are some of the most impressive debut performances by a person/team new to quizbowl?
Specifically, I'm not really interested in a "new" college team led by an experienced player, for example, or other cases where a person has experience and then moves to/starts a new team. This is a thread about recognizing more "raw talent" -- a person or group of people playing their first, or at least essentially their first, quizbowl tournament and rising to the occasion in a beautiful way.
I know this is the college section, but I'll offer up for recognition my 5th/6th grade team that just competed in an elementary tournament. None of them had ever played any form of organized quizbowl before besides our practice sessions, and they went an undefeated 9-0 to win the tournament in their debut performance.
What are some of the most impressive debut performances by a person/team new to quizbowl?
Specifically, I'm not really interested in a "new" college team led by an experienced player, for example, or other cases where a person has experience and then moves to/starts a new team. This is a thread about recognizing more "raw talent" -- a person or group of people playing their first, or at least essentially their first, quizbowl tournament and rising to the occasion in a beautiful way.
I know this is the college section, but I'll offer up for recognition my 5th/6th grade team that just competed in an elementary tournament. None of them had ever played any form of organized quizbowl before besides our practice sessions, and they went an undefeated 9-0 to win the tournament in their debut performance.
Alex Dzurick
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Owner/Editor, SAGES Quizbowl Questions
Middle school teacher, Rohan Woods School
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South Callaway '08 -- Mizzou '12 -- Illinois '17
SCMS coach '12-'13 -- EFIP coach '20-'21 -- RWS coach '22-present
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Owner/Editor, SAGES Quizbowl Questions
Middle school teacher, Rohan Woods School
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South Callaway '08 -- Mizzou '12 -- Illinois '17
SCMS coach '12-'13 -- EFIP coach '20-'21 -- RWS coach '22-present
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
I have heard that half of UWaterloo's ICT DII winning team this year had never played quiz bowl before. I cannot confirm this but consultation of the NAQT website suggests at least some of them were only recorded as playing one novice tournament before SCT. I can see how that wouldn't count as "debut" but given how they went on to win the entire DII event over a tough field filled with former high school stars, its an extraordinary run.
Graham Troy
ECHHS '22
UNC '26
ECHHS '22
UNC '26
Re: Best Debut Performances?
Moultrie at the 2019 MSNCT had never played pyramidal quizbowl before (at least in an official tournament) and qualified via wildcard. As one might expect from a team used to playing bad one-sentence questions on a ruleset that did not include neg penalties, they negged a *lot* -- about 22% of all the tossups they heard. As one might not expect, though, they had 21.7 PPB in prelims and finished tied for 33rd in the country, not to mention their winning record (3-2) in games where they negged seven or more times!
I don't know of any other example -- and certainly not of any other recent example -- of a team with literally zero pyramidal tournament experience showing up to a good national tournament at any level, making a strong run in playoffs, and putting up legitimately good stats while doing so.
Also, apparently the two top scorers on the Waterloo team that won D2 ICT this year had not played any organized trivia before this year. That obviously wasn't directly their debut tournament but that's insanely impressive for first-year players. (Lol, scooped by Graham on this one.)
I don't know of any other example -- and certainly not of any other recent example -- of a team with literally zero pyramidal tournament experience showing up to a good national tournament at any level, making a strong run in playoffs, and putting up legitimately good stats while doing so.
Also, apparently the two top scorers on the Waterloo team that won D2 ICT this year had not played any organized trivia before this year. That obviously wasn't directly their debut tournament but that's insanely impressive for first-year players. (Lol, scooped by Graham on this one.)
Last edited by CPiGuy on Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Conor Thompson (he/it)
Bangor High School '16
University of Michigan '20
Iowa State University '25
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Bangor High School '16
University of Michigan '20
Iowa State University '25
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
Though he had played speed-based formats in icy New Hampshire, an unknown high school senior named Jordan Brownstein wowed a lot of people by reaching the semifinals of the 2013 National History Bee with little to no prior exposure to pyramidal questions. He hasn't really stopped wowing people since.
Matt Jackson
University of Chicago '24
Yale '14, Georgetown Day School '10
member emeritus, ACF
University of Chicago '24
Yale '14, Georgetown Day School '10
member emeritus, ACF
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
chard.
Amogh Kulkarni
Wayzata 2018-2021
Chicago 2021-2023
GSU 2023-2025
Wayzata 2018-2021
Chicago 2021-2023
GSU 2023-2025
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/t ... m_id=97018
Not college but there is no way this isn't the craziest debut performance ever.
Not college but there is no way this isn't the craziest debut performance ever.
Liam Starnes
Barrington HS '21
UChicago '25
"A non-quizbowl scientist" - Matt Jackson
Barrington HS '21
UChicago '25
"A non-quizbowl scientist" - Matt Jackson
Re: Best Debut Performances?
Jeff King's is surely up there; he had never before played quizbowl at any level when he put up 27.00 PPG on a challenging Illinois Open set.
Jordan Brownstein
UMD '17
UMD '17
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
Victor Pavao
Acton-Boxborough '14, Villanova '18
Acton-Boxborough '14, Villanova '18
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
I believe Jeff did do speed-based buzzer competitions in high school, though the vast majority of his question-answering experience comes from years of dedicated effort to get good at "trivia" (and he is extremely good at that). It was very cool to see someone from that world do well in this one!
Matt Jackson
University of Chicago '24
Yale '14, Georgetown Day School '10
member emeritus, ACF
University of Chicago '24
Yale '14, Georgetown Day School '10
member emeritus, ACF
Re: Best Debut Performances?
If this is the Jeff King from the "trivia" world, he had at least played several trash tournaments (I played him at a CO Trash) before that, which certainly doesn't take away from a very successful "academic" debut.
Mike Cheyne
Formerly U of Minnesota
"You killed HSAPQ"--Matt Bollinger
Formerly U of Minnesota
"You killed HSAPQ"--Matt Bollinger
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
connor mayers
maryland
maryland
Re: Best Debut Performances?
echoes in the Othersea wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:44 pm I have heard that half of UWaterloo's ICT DII winning team this year had never played quiz bowl before. I cannot confirm this but consultation of the NAQT website suggests at least some of them were only recorded as playing one novice tournament before SCT. I can see how that wouldn't count as "debut" but given how they went on to win the entire DII event over a tough field filled with former high school stars, its an extraordinary run.
Perhaps tall tales are beginning to surround our miracle ICT run... I started playing quizbowl at the UWQB club at the beginning of the S22 semester, so about May 2022, and I got Mati to come to a meeting like the week after, so we started around the same time.CPiGuy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:54 pm Also, apparently the two top scorers on the Waterloo team that won D2 ICT this year had not played any organized trivia before this year. That obviously wasn't directly their debut tournament but that's insanely impressive for first-year players. (Lol, scooped by Graham on this one.)
There are a few possibilities for what both our "first" college quizbowl tournaments should be, but we played Ontario Hybrid 2022 (admittedly partially trash), the Canadian summer mirrors of NASAT and HSNCT ("HS"), Collegiate Novice ("adapted HS"), as well as essentially every Canadian circuit event this year, beginning with ACF Fall, which has no blemishes on its record.
Also, I was not one of the top two scorers; Gaian outscored me in the prelims and Liam pulled ahead as well in the playoff bracket, and they've both been playing for 2+ years at this point.
It is true, however, that neither me nor Mati had played organized trivia until a year ago.
michael du, uwaterloo cs '25
dii ict champ '23
dii ict champ '23
Re: Best Debut Performances?
Think a noteworthy middle school level one from the past few years is this or if you count his regular qb tournament debut this. (Once again though he'd done other academic competitions but not qb specifically)
Sam Macchi (They/Them)
Belmont High School '23
Vassar College '27
Belmont High School '23
Vassar College '27
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
I've got two that I personally witnessed. While neither example went on to win their tournament debuts, they were still shocking to me at the time. Perhaps Jarret could expand on both of these stories if he sees this post:
1. Andrei from Upper Arlington B. I don't know if Upper Arlington had ever played pyramidal quizbowl up to this point, and it's possible the team had quiz show experience since In The Know is a big thing in central Ohio, or that the school participates in other academic competitions, but putting up this kind of scoreline and keeping up with the top teams in Ohio at the time was no small feat. As far as I know this was the one and only tournament he played, although he was around for the NASAT tryouts the day after and acquitted himself well there too.
2. Kevin Bloomfield from Ohio State. I can't remember how quick the turnaround was from Jarret recruiting Kevin and DII SCT happening, but it definitely wasn't more than a couple weeks, since I don't think he came to a practice before SCT? Nevertheless, I wasn't expecting him to put the team on his shoulders with nearly double the PPG of the next highest scoring player, but after getting to know him better it was clear that he had pretty deep knowledge in classics and history just from what he was doing in college at the time. Unfortunately Kevin didn't stick around for too long after ICT that year, but he certainly left his mark.
1. Andrei from Upper Arlington B. I don't know if Upper Arlington had ever played pyramidal quizbowl up to this point, and it's possible the team had quiz show experience since In The Know is a big thing in central Ohio, or that the school participates in other academic competitions, but putting up this kind of scoreline and keeping up with the top teams in Ohio at the time was no small feat. As far as I know this was the one and only tournament he played, although he was around for the NASAT tryouts the day after and acquitted himself well there too.
2. Kevin Bloomfield from Ohio State. I can't remember how quick the turnaround was from Jarret recruiting Kevin and DII SCT happening, but it definitely wasn't more than a couple weeks, since I don't think he came to a practice before SCT? Nevertheless, I wasn't expecting him to put the team on his shoulders with nearly double the PPG of the next highest scoring player, but after getting to know him better it was clear that he had pretty deep knowledge in classics and history just from what he was doing in college at the time. Unfortunately Kevin didn't stick around for too long after ICT that year, but he certainly left his mark.
Jasper Lee
University of Tennessee Health Science Center '21
The Ohio State University '14
Solon High School '10
University of Tennessee Health Science Center '21
The Ohio State University '14
Solon High School '10
Re: Best Debut Performances?
Sycamore's performance at MSNCT last year was pretty darn good for a team at its second tournament of its first year (and it's not like their first tournament went poorly, either).
Oh, and then there's Evan Ting, who opened his quiz bowl career by beating Sreekar Vajjha and Padraig Finan, two of this year's top middle school players, en route to finishing second while basically soloing a very strong TQBA field.
Sycamore apparently has a history of doing very well at other academic competitions, but these were still very impressive debuts.
Oh, and then there's Evan Ting, who opened his quiz bowl career by beating Sreekar Vajjha and Padraig Finan, two of this year's top middle school players, en route to finishing second while basically soloing a very strong TQBA field.
Sycamore apparently has a history of doing very well at other academic competitions, but these were still very impressive debuts.
Reilly Melville
Chaska High School '22
Purdue University '26
Chaska High School '22
Purdue University '26
Re: Best Debut Performances?
Yeah I generally think of "this year" as meaning "this competition year" in a quizbowl context (which is apparently still not true but almost so). Sorry for the confusion.mdu wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2023 12:52 amechoes in the Othersea wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 6:44 pm I have heard that half of UWaterloo's ICT DII winning team this year had never played quiz bowl before. I cannot confirm this but consultation of the NAQT website suggests at least some of them were only recorded as playing one novice tournament before SCT. I can see how that wouldn't count as "debut" but given how they went on to win the entire DII event over a tough field filled with former high school stars, its an extraordinary run.Perhaps tall tales are beginning to surround our miracle ICT run... I started playing quizbowl at the UWQB club at the beginning of the S22 semester, so about May 2022, and I got Mati to come to a meeting like the week after, so we started around the same time.CPiGuy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 7:54 pm Also, apparently the two top scorers on the Waterloo team that won D2 ICT this year had not played any organized trivia before this year. That obviously wasn't directly their debut tournament but that's insanely impressive for first-year players. (Lol, scooped by Graham on this one.)
There are a few possibilities for what both our "first" college quizbowl tournaments should be, but we played Ontario Hybrid 2022 (admittedly partially trash), the Canadian summer mirrors of NASAT and HSNCT ("HS"), Collegiate Novice ("adapted HS"), as well as essentially every Canadian circuit event this year, beginning with ACF Fall, which has no blemishes on its record.
Also, I was not one of the top two scorers; Gaian outscored me in the prelims and Liam pulled ahead as well in the playoff bracket, and they've both been playing for 2+ years at this point.
It is true, however, that neither me nor Mati had played organized trivia until a year ago.
Conor Thompson (he/it)
Bangor High School '16
University of Michigan '20
Iowa State University '25
Tournament Format Database
Bangor High School '16
University of Michigan '20
Iowa State University '25
Tournament Format Database
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Re: Best Debut Performances?
TJ's phenomenal froshmore Aaryan Sumesh put up 31/10/3 at his first quiz bowl tournament ever. Which, albeit on IS-A, is extraordinary power percentage and neg control.
Elle Lee
she|they
Longfellow (2017-19)
Thomas Jefferson(2019-2023)
Longfellow (2023-)
she|they
Longfellow (2017-19)
Thomas Jefferson(2019-2023)
Longfellow (2023-)
Re: Best Debut Performances?
I've been measuring this, and I have a few that I think fall under this
1. William Golden, very first tournament as a 7th grader, gets 50 powers and 128 ppg: https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/t ... m_id=55618
2. Alex Schmidt, shows up to his first tournament as a freshman in high school, puts up 39 powers and over 100 PPG on an IS Set: https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/t ... m_id=72720
3. Shawn Cafferty-Lueck (Russellville/UArkansas fame), mostly unknown History Bowl Star, plays his first pyramidal style tournament on a nearly Regs_ Scottie Set, gets 48 powers and over 100 PPG overall: https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... etail/#t18
I would also consider Leya from Interlake B, who got 146 PPG and won her first tournament, Bird Hole from this year, although SANDS notably skewed easy: https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/7 ... InterlakeB
1. William Golden, very first tournament as a 7th grader, gets 50 powers and 128 ppg: https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/t ... m_id=55618
2. Alex Schmidt, shows up to his first tournament as a freshman in high school, puts up 39 powers and over 100 PPG on an IS Set: https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/t ... m_id=72720
3. Shawn Cafferty-Lueck (Russellville/UArkansas fame), mostly unknown History Bowl Star, plays his first pyramidal style tournament on a nearly Regs_ Scottie Set, gets 48 powers and over 100 PPG overall: https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/6 ... etail/#t18
I would also consider Leya from Interlake B, who got 146 PPG and won her first tournament, Bird Hole from this year, although SANDS notably skewed easy: https://hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/7 ... InterlakeB
Nic Pruitt (they/them)
Founder of the Maine Quiz Bowl Alliance (MEQBA)
Bates College '25
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Ridgewood '21
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Founder of the Maine Quiz Bowl Alliance (MEQBA)
Bates College '25
Kings College London, Winter '24 Semester
Ridgewood '21
Director of Outreach, American Quizbowl League, Prometheus Science Bowl, and Long Island Quiz Bowl Alliance
Outreach and Technology, Florida Quiz Bowl Association
Re: Best Debut Performances?
Luke Minton's debut HSNCT performance in his senior year (2016) should be up there. I really think he could have been an elite player if he cared about quiz bowl even a little bit.
Jon Suh
Wheaton Warrenville South High School '16
Harvard '20
Wheaton Warrenville South High School '16
Harvard '20