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A bit early, but does anyone have predictions for the upcoming season?

Downstate teams lose basically everyone. I predict a similar order to last year, with Fremd and Barrington moving down a bit and Sandburg moving up.

I think my team and Barrington are both getting some strong rising freshmen.

Uni might go to tournaments in Chicagoland such as the New Trier Solo and the IHSSBCA Kickoff at Stevenson, just for the purpose of playing better teams and improving. We will definitely be attending Earlybird and the Barron Robinson Memorial Invitational.

I would guess that the top tier will be very similar to last year, with Auburn, Uni, IMSA, and Stevenson being the best (in some order). After that, it could be the wild west, but Fremd, OPRF, Sandburg, Athens (my sleeper pick, could pull off a Mahomet-esque surprise run), Barrington, Metea Valley, Uni B, Macomb, and many others should all be quite good and capable of knocking off good teams. Mahomet, Williamsville, Southwestern, and Carbondale will all be losing their main scoring and will need to work very hard to remain competitive this year, but I wouldn't put it past any of them to do just that (especially Southwestern and Carbondale).

Fremd loses the majority of their A and B teams (Varun, Alex, Gretchen, Kevin, Bissmun, Advay, etc), so we probably aren't going to be as good as years past. That being said, Jamin/Shreya/Vikas + others are still really good and improving as well, so I don't think there will be as big as a drop off as some people might think.

Hello.

Hanson asked me to post this poll: https://goo.gl/forms/ypnoOlQvucvFrBv43 into the forums. It's basically a preseason poll where you rank who you think the top Illinois teams are, and give a brief justification. Once the poll is complete, Hanson will post the rankings along with a brief write up.

Like Arjun said, I only need the brief explanation at the end to compile everyone's thoughts into a final write-up.

I ask that you put your name and affiliation in the poll so I know that the same person didn't vote twice, but I promise to keep the poll anonymous. However, I do plan to release the ballots, with names, affiliations, and explanations redacted.

I plan for the poll to close 11pm, Wednesday 6/27 and I'll release the results by Friday.

EDIT: Extending the poll for a few days to hopefully get more responses.

EDIT 2: Poll will now be closed at 10pm, Friday 6/29.

PRESASON POLL RESULTS:

1. Stevenson A, 112 pts, ranked in 100% of ballots, high rank 1, low rank 4
Returning A-team players Govind and Olivia are arguably the best history and literature players in the state, respectively, so Stevenson still remains the most formidable team. They graduate their science coverage in Deepak, but they will most likely recover quickly as they have done in previous years.

T-2. Auburn, 108 pts, 100%, high 1, low 4
Ethan is close to unbeatable on FA (esp. music), has deep generalism in both literature and history, and is continuing to improve at an impressive rate. However, Auburn will miss Kodai, and their success will be based on how much Ethan's teammates can patch up his weak spots.

T-2. IMSA, 108 pts, 100%, high 1, low 4
I won't say too much about my own team here, but we will continue to have a foundation in science as well as solid generalism from Matthew. Hopefully the team studies hard and also brings in/develops some new talent. Scaling up will probably be our biggest challenge (based on observations from last season).

4. Uni A, 104 pts, 100%, high 1, low 4
Uni A graduates only Reed (who played as a reserve for the latter half of the season), so they definitely have the deepest returning lineup, consisting of history specialists Jonathan and Tim, literature specialist Ethan, and FA specialist Dylan, all of whom are extremely competitive at the state level. If they can continue to improve at the same rate as last year (resulting in 2 state championships), Uni A will continue to enjoy success this year. As with IMSA, scaling up seems to be a challenge here, based off of nationals performances.

5. OPRF, 73 pts, 87.5%, high 5, low 7
Kevin has become very dangerous at science in addition to retaining his impressive literature knowledge and generalism, but suffers from a lack of teammate and administrative support. Hopefully he's able to get out and play more, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he makes a deep run at one of the state tournaments and/or nationals.

6. Sandburg, 70 pts, 87.5%, high 5, low 7
Aristotle puts up great numbers and did well at IPNCT, and beat Auburn (forget which tournament) on an effectively solo team. However, Sandburg's performance seems to take a great hit at higher difficulties, especially in their PPB. Scaling up better would be the catalyst for a breakthrough on the state and national scene.

7. Fremd A, 67 pts, 87.5%, high 6, low 7
Fremd graduate their top 2 players in Varun and Alex, but keeps literature specialist/generalist Jamin. He has support in various categories from players such as Vikas and Shreya, and with some team studying, can reach the same level as last year's Fremd A.

8. Barrington, 63 pts, 100%, high 5, low 10
Barrington graduates their best player in Wilder but retains science specialist Abraham; their success will depend on if he can generalize and if his teammates can complement his game. Their PPB at HSNCT was rather good.

9. Uni B, 31 pts, 62.5%, high 6, low 12
Uni's deep bench helps them to supply Uni B with solid players such as Matthew, but lose Reed. They also seem to be bringing in two new players, Lawrence and Andy, who both excelled in MS quizbowl.

10. Macomb, 29 pts, 50%, high 8, low 11
Clara has good literature knowledge, but loses her science support from Theodore.

11. Athens, 17 pts, 37.5%, high 8, low 13
Alex put up impressive numbers at SSNCT (77ppg and 15th place in the traditional public school division), and also won the 1A Masonic State title.

12. Palatine, 12 pts, 37.5%, high 10, low 13
Palatine had two good juniors at NAQT State who each put up around 30-35 ppg.

Also receiving votes: Glenbard West (11), Metea Valley (9), Stevenson B (9), Mahomet-Seymour (8), Latin (6), Carbondale (4), Homewood-Flossmoor (4), Metamora (3), Byron (2), Chicago Christian (2), Naperville Central (2), Marion (1)

Ballots can be found here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Due to the low number of responses (only 8), I elected not to take out the top and bottom rankings, as was done in previous posts. If you spot any errors in my math or my descriptions above, please let me know.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this poll!

hcube wrote: 8. Barrington, 63 pts, 100%, high 5, low 10
Barrington graduates their best player in Wilder but retains science specialist Abraham; their success will depend on if he can generalize and if his teammates can complement his game. Their PPB at HSNCT was rather good.

Barrington also gains an uber talented player in Abigail Bergan. I'm excited to see her transition into HS quizbowl.

My knowledge of Chicagoland is slim, so I will present my downstate (south of Springfield ) predictions.

Southwestern are always solid, but lose Lana and Jacob. They always seem to be competitive though, so we'll see.

O'Fallon lose probably the best player in southern Illinois in Mark and don't bring anybody particularly strong back.

Granite City and us should be the two strongest teams in my immediate area. I'm not sure if John graduated, but I know Alex returns.

I should be one of the better FA (music) and geography players in the area. I'm looking to bring in some younger talent, especially in sci/lit. Hopefully I can get enough support to make a regional run.

Carbondale will be Carbondale. John Paul will be a force, and they will probably make a run at state again.

IHSSBCA is partnering with the Lot 14 Auction House in Niles in a fundraising event at 5:00 on July 19th. If you can volunteer for us, contact Mike Laudermith <[email protected]>. If you bid on items, a share of the profits will go to IHSSBCA. The address is Oak Mill Mall; 7900 N Milwaukee Ave., Unit 2; Niles, IL 60714.

Speaking from my area of Illinois, Hinsdale Central and Glenbard West are both gaining strength and York has gotten a recent influx of strong players from Quest. Glenbard North also has a player who is very good at history. I would definitely look at West Suburban Conference and the surrounding area for some sleeper picks (assuming teams actually get out there and play). Whitney Young is also getting better.

Out of curiosity, how early is info released for South Central Scobol Solo? I'm vaguely interested in doing it this year (even though I'll probably do terribly ). I'm assuming Coach Hasquin has some info. Looking to find areas to improve and meet other talented players.

Scobol solo predictions? As Kevin did last year, here's a list of people who I think would have a shot of making the final.

Ethan Ashbrook
Myself
Tim Cho
Hanson Hao
Abraham Holtermann
Jimmy Humphrey
Jamin Kim
Kevin Kodama
Olivia Lamberti
Jonathan Lau
Matthew Lee
Alex Morris
Arjun Nageswaran
Sophie Netzel
Govind Prabhakar
Ethan Strombeck
John Paul Taylor
Tejas Vadali
Aristotle Vainikos

I think that Ethan S/Hanson are the most likely to win with Kevin, Govind, and Aristotle a level below them. Ethan is of course completely dominant in FA and is a top-5 player in the state in both literature and history. Hanson will thrive in the finals environment due to his science prowess and strong generalism. Govind had the best showing of anyone from Illinois at IPNCT but the mACF format may hurt him along with his generalism being a bit below that of the others.

Amiable Vitriol wrote: ↑Sat Jun 30, 2018 1:53 am

hcube wrote: 8. Barrington, 63 pts, 100%, high 5, low 10
Barrington graduates their best player in Wilder but retains science specialist Abraham; their success will depend on if he can generalize and if his teammates can complement his game. Their PPB at HSNCT was rather good.

Barrington also gains an uber talented player in Abigail Bergan. I'm excited to see her transition into HS quizbowl.

Abigail will remind people of a young Olivia Lamberti, IMO.

Dylan Bowman of Uni Lab has posted a nice write-up of the Illinois teams featured in the Groger Ranks here: https://grogerranks.wordpress.com/2018/ ... -analysis/

Now that the season has started to get into full swing, what are everybody's thoughts on the season so far? I am particularly looking forward to South Central Scobol Solo and was wondering if some of the more distant teams from last year (Uni Lab, Winnebago etc.) were making the trip down to Macoupin County this year.

TheAngryBavarian wrote: ↑Sun Dec 02, 2018 12:02 am Now that the season has started to get into full swing, what are everybody's thoughts on the season so far? I am particularly looking forward to South Central Scobol Solo and was wondering if some of the more distant teams from last year (Uni Lab, Winnebago etc.) were making the trip down to Macoupin County this year.

SC Solo will be imperfect, since Springfield HS is sending two teams to NTV. Dylan, Tim and Jonathan also played at the main site.

dtaylor4 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 02, 2018 12:45 am

TheAngryBavarian wrote: ↑Sun Dec 02, 2018 12:02 am Now that the season has started to get into full swing, what are everybody's thoughts on the season so far? I am particularly looking forward to South Central Scobol Solo and was wondering if some of the more distant teams from last year (Uni Lab, Winnebago etc.) were making the trip down to Macoupin County this year.

SC Solo will be imperfect, since Springfield HS is sending two teams to NTV. Dylan, Tim and Jonathan also played at the main site.

I hope no one gets confused by the title of "South Central Solo" and shows up in Farina, IL...
https://www.southcentralschools.org/

TheAngryBavarian wrote: ↑Sun Dec 02, 2018 12:02 am Now that the season has started to get into full swing, what are everybody's thoughts on the season so far? I am particularly looking forward to South Central Scobol Solo and was wondering if some of the more distant teams from last year (Uni Lab, Winnebago etc.) were making the trip down to Macoupin County this year.

Winnebago is heading down, yes.

Hey all:

Arjun from Stevenson and I have started an Illinois HSQB Discord. Ideally, it'll be a way for players to connect with the circuit and discuss upcoming tournaments.

Here's the link: https://discord.gg/VuXzEpY. I'd like to ask non-Illinois people to join the main Discord and/or the HSQB Discord instead, as this new server will be Illinois-centric.

Doesn't mean much, but assignments for IHSA Sectionals are posted.
https://www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/S ... assign.htm

I'm very flattered by the title "decent generalist"

Predictions on who will win NAQT state?

User was reminded to enable a signature. --Mgmt.

My predictions
1. Uni Lab A
2. Stevenson A
3. Auburn
4. IMSA
Small School Champ: Southwestern
Leading Scorer: Ethan Strombeck, I'd guess about 125ppg.

With only 260 students in its top four grades, University Lab is a small school according to NAQT's revised definition. Prior to 2018, it was not eligible for small school status because it is a non-boundaried selective-admissions public school, and not a private or traditional public school. Chicago Latin, although slightly larger, is also a small school by NAQT’s definition.

Despite being down a game, advantaged to Stevenson, Auburn wins two stressful tight games to claim the 2019 Illinois NAQT Championship. In game one, with the score tied, the clock went off just before Auburn answered the last bonus part to win. Stevenson stormed back in the second half of game 2, but Auburn managed to hold on for dear life. Two truly great teams.

Props to UIUC for hosting a pretty smooth running tournament.

What are everyone's predictions for Masonic State?
My predictions
1A
1. New Berlin
Next Most Likely: Galena

2A
1. Uni Lab
Next Most Likely: Macomb/Williamsville

3A
1. Auburn
Next Most Likely: IMSA/OPRF

Congratulations to the All-Sectional Teams, and also good luck to those participating in Masonic State tomorrow.

IHSA Regionals are today! I hope everyone has a good experience with the set, and I encourage you to give me as much feedback as possible. A few notes:

*Regional questions are not clear until all scores are posted. You never know if a site has to get postponed, due to weather or other circumstances, until the IHSA ScoreZone is fully updated. Do not post question specifics online until that's done. The same will be true on Sectionals Saturday.

*Moderators and coaches will be given a link to an IHSA survey to provide general feedback about the set. There's an option to provide open feedback in that survey; you can also provide feedback by e-mailing Kraig Garber and myself directly. There is not an option for players to fill out that survey, but player feedback is also appreciated via e-mail and posts in this thread.

*The #1 form of feedback is stories of personal experience; #1a is statistical data, and the IHSA scoresheet seeks to gather that for tossup and bonus part conversion. If you are hosting a regional or sectional, make sure your scorekeepers know how to fill out the scoresheet for what we need ("making sure that bonus scores are tracked by part and written in the correct columns" is basically enough to make it work), and make sure your scoresheets are scanned and e-mailed to Kraig Garber. Regional and Sectional managers were e-mailed a short instructional video and a sample scoresheet, both of which are on the IHSA's Scholastic Bowl web page.

Best of luck to all, and have a great tournament!

The Regional scores are all posted.

Congratulations and Good Luck to all advancers to state.

Congratulations to all the teams who competed at state today. It looks like there were a lot of great games. Of course, extra congratulations to the champions, Chicago Christian and Uni High, who had to survive an incredibly talented pool to claim their titles.

I was in charge of producing the math and literature questions this year. The math was mostly a solo effort, with some creative consulting from Adam Fine. I do want to thank two people who made my life much easier with their literature contributions: Mitch Baron and Clare Keenan. Both provided more interesting ideas than I'd have come up with, and both delivered their questions very early in the writing process. If you liked anything about the literature questions, let them feel your appreciation. If there's anything you disliked in either math or lit, please tell me.

I owe a post-IHSA recap and thanks post; one of the things I've been busy with in the interim is IHSSBCA All-State voting, which has finished.

Congratulations to this year's honorees!