St. Joe comes in second, Rock Hill third in Quiz Bowl tournament

For the second year in a row, Ironton is the high school Quiz Bowl champion for Lawrence County.

The team defeated St. Joseph High School, 41-33 in the final round of the Ironmaster tournament at Ohio University Southern on Wednesday.

Eight high schools faced off in the event, organized by the Lawrence County Educational Service Center.

As Ironton had lost a match earlier in the double elimination tournament, they had to beat undefeated St. Joseph twice to claim the top spot.

“They had to work their way back from the losers’ bracket,” Julie Walters, student services coordinator for the ESC, said.

Mary Frances Gunderson, coach for Ironton, said it felt “great” to win again.

“We won last year, and we’ll go to regionals on April 6 in Lancaster,” she said. “I had three seniors who really carried the load. This was our goal for this year.”

Ironton’s team, comprised of John Higgins, Hunter Humphreys, Drew Bartam, Ben Hermann-Holt and Loralei Griffiths, was also named the regular season winner, leading in the individual school meets throughout the year.

“What a season,” Walters said of the efforts. “They only lost one match.”

Higgins was named by Gunderson as “Outstanding Player.”

Others chosen by their coaches for that honor included Cameron Donahue, of Rock Hill; Sam Caskey, of South Point; Andrew Miller, of Chesapeake; Scott Ferrell, of Fairland; Isaac Dickess, of Dawson-Bryant; Connor Waller, of St. Joseph; and Tanner Sites, of Symmes Valley.

Second place St. Joseph’s team was comprised of Waller, Dmitri Ward, Isabella Griffiths, Jared Johnson and Camryn Zornes.

Third place in the tournament went to Rock Hill, whose team was made up of Donahue, Luke Malone, Jacob Gnau, Eli Baker, Adam Fleeman, Caleb Dillon, Regan Massie and Daniel Mootz.