Church at Briargate of Colorado Springs, Colorado had done it again. Their "Speed and Finality" team has won the 44th Annual Assemblies of God Teen Bible Quiz National Finals, and thus captured their third title in the new century. The "Final 40" champions from 2001 and 2004 won by two games over James River Assembly "Joy" of Ozark, Missouri, and Cedar Park Church "Beyond Blessed" of Bothell, Washington. Bothell took the runner-up spot by winning a one-game playoff over Ozark. First Assembly of Lexington finished fourth. This is Molly Pace's third national championship.
Briargate started the day two games in front, but stumbled in the first round of the day, losing to South Bend, Indiana. That set up a crucial game in Round 18 against Ozark, where a win by "Joy" would result in a first-place tie with one game to play. Briargate won the game, clinching the championship, the fourth title for Greg House as a coach.
Meanwhile, Lexington's Jon Galliers had the title of top-scoring individual quizzer all locked up before the day even began. He quizzed out in all 19 rounds and scored 2,520 points, an average of 132.63 points per game out of a possible 150. The scoring average compares favorably with some of the top quizzers in "Final 40" history, all of whom competed under old rules that required six correct answers for a quiz-out and 10-point bonus. Rule changes in effect this year returned the question total to its original level of five, but changed the bonus to 20 points.
In the Challenger Division, First Assembly of Lafayette, Indiana defeated First Assembly of San Angelo, Texas in a one-game playoff for the trophy. Both teams finished with 18-1 records. Bethany Laakkonen of Glad Tidings Assembly in Duluth, Minnesota led all individuals in the division with 1,880 points and 15 quiz-outs.
Round-by-round recaps, and results from the Individual Tournament, Quoting Bee and Dramatic Quoting will be posted shortly.
Team Standings | Individual Standings | Monday Preliminary Results
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