Published: Jul 4, 2012 by James Lex
The team competition for the 2012 National Finals is over, with the Individual Tournament and Quoting Bee remaining tomorrow, along with the fabled “Match of Death.” Here are a few observations from a coach’s perspective now that things are all wrapped up.
Congratulations to Owasso, OK for their fourth title in five years. That’s a pretty amazing feat, and launches them squarely into dynasty territory with Decatur, Orange Hills, and Briargate.
Wesley Chapel, FL finished with the best round robin record, making this the third consecutive year in which the team in that position did not ultimately win the title. Each year of the Final Four, the round robin winner has finished second.
Garfield, NJ put together another impressive run, and the top three teams from the past three seasons have been the same, though the order has juggled. The senior Jersey boys were impressive in quizzing as well as in attitude.
I was very proud of my team from James River in Ozark, MO. This was our first Final Four appearance, and the drama and comedy were both high. The drama was in breaking the three-way tie for the final spot in the playoffs. The comedy came when my guys decided to entertain the crowd in our games. We quizzed well and we had fun.
Binghamton, NY and South Bend, IN were fifth and sixth after the ties were broken. We actually had to go to the third tiebreaker to settle the issue, and it came down to points scored against teams with which you were tied. The scores were within 50 points of one another.
The rest of the top 10 were rounded out with Bellevue, WA, Mt. Pocono, PA, Central-Springfield, MO, and Swedesboro, NJ. This meant four teams from the Northeast and two from the Gulf, with one each from South Central, Southeast, Great Lakes, and Northwest.
Abby Rogers continues to work on rewriting the record books, winning her third consecutive scoring title. This ties her for the most all-time with Kent Piacenti. Abby has three more years, and it’s hard to see anyone outscoring her anytime soon. I think the last time she was outscored anywhere was at her first Nationals, when she finished third. Abby also quizzed out forward in every game of Nationals this year save one, giving her a total of 27 for the week.
The rest of the top 10 scorers were Daniel Wagner, Joseph Chacra, Kyler Sederwall, Joshua George, Hudson Kelley, Isaac Ward, Devon Colegrove, Kenadee Schrock, and Luke Wagner.
In Challenger, Costa Mesa, CA shook off a playoff defeat that kept them from the Championship Division to win first place. Zach Mang was the top scorer as well, performing well.