St. Thomas again contended among the nation’s elite Quiz Bowl performers at the prestigious High School National Championship Tournament.

The 20th annual event sponsored by the National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) drew the top teams featuring acclaimed individual talent from across the country, with 352 programs converging at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis May 25-27.

Captain Tyler McStravick ‘19, Nate Belcher ‘18, John Cordes ‘19 and Nicholas Kurzy ‘20 won four of their first six preliminary round matches in a 10-match sequence, defeating Middlebury Union (Vermont), Davis (California), Hallsville R-IV (Missouri) and BASIS Independent (McLean, Virginia).

McStravick capped another scintillating individual season, concluding the competition with All-Star recognition after correctly answering 65 toss-up questions, including 16 earning bonus points. He ranked an impressive 35th among more than 1,660 preliminary scorers while Belcher finished in the top 30% overall.

A second St. Thomas team captained by Douglas Beirne ‘19 competed with Trent Butler ‘19, Nicholas Chandler ‘20, and Creighton Ward ‘21.

McStravick has proven to be a difference-making force within the St. Thomas program since his freshman year, making an immediate and measurable impact with a group of experienced performers, and leading the Eagles in 2018 to a no. 14 state ranking before the National NAQT. He was the dominant competitor at the Cajun Quiz Bowl event, teaming with Cordes and Chris Tan ‘21 for an undefeated 10-match charge to the team title, and also partnered with Belcher, Tan and Douglas Fahrenholz ‘19 for a fourth-place result at the Bayou City Classic.

In March, McStravick, Kurzy and Nicholas Chandler ‘20 defeated Baton Rouge Central to successfully defend the St. Thomas team championship at the 14th annual WWII High School Quiz Bowl, hosted by The National WWII Museum in New Orleans and sponsored by the New Orleans Advocate.

In 2017, McStravick, Kurzy and Belcher secured the title with a victory over New Orleans Jesuit.

Eagle Quiz Bowl qualified for the 2018 nationals with a strong fifth-place finish at the TQBA Kickoff Classic XIII.

St. Thomas launched its program six years ago from ground zero with only seven charter members under the leadership of faculty member Grover Green ‘04 who has built one of the premier identities in Texas.

Quiz Bowl serves as a varsity sport of the minds with a format similar to the Jeopardy! game show where four-person teams field questions drawn from the full array of core high school curriculum, as well as pop culture and current events, and must buzz in first with the correct answer.  Questions are designed to give the best-prepared player the optimal chance of answering correctly with the hardest clues coming first and the hints gradually decreasing in difficulty.

Catholic. Basilian. Teaching Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge since 1900.