South’s Quiz Bowl team won the Macomb Area Conference, taking the division with a record of 14-1 and qualifying to play in states and national championships later this year. Quiz Bowl is a club run by social studies teacher Peter Palen that offers students the opportunity to compete in academic competitions against other schools.
“Quiz Bowl runs a 15 game season every year. We practice nearly every week in preparation,” Palen said. “This is an extraordinary club that I am very lucky to run each year. We’re looking forward to states at the University of Michigan in April. This is one of the best squads I have ever had.”
Quiz Bowl plays two matches every week against different schools running from November through January. Teams of five students compete against each other in a jeopardy style competition in order to gain the most points possible. The team has been invited to the state competition at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on April 13. Gaia Sperone ’26 is a member of the club and has participated in many competitions throughout the year.
“This club has been incredibly fun throughout the year, and I’m glad to be a part of its success,” Sperone said. “We’ve been working very hard to come up with some success this year, spending many hours after school practicing in Mr. Palen’s room to become the best version of this team that we can be.”
Quiz Bowl is hosted about two times per week in Mr. Palen’s room. The team practices rigorously doing mock games to prepare for competitions and covers anything that they got wrong or seemed weak. Josh Koch is the team captain of Quiz Bowl and led them to win the MAC title. He also helped them prepare.
“Winning the MAC was a big part of what this team can accomplish. It’s a big step in the journey of this team,” Koch said. “Our practice definitely paid off as we are on our way to Ann Arbor. I’m proud of this team and how far we’ve come throughout the year. I’m looking forward to what this team can continue to do in the future.”
