Strong start to Knowledge Bowl season

One meet into the 2024 season, it appears that Buffalo High School is poised to continue its legacy of success in Knowledge Bowl competition.

For one thing, the program remains one of the largest in the region, with four varsity teams and three junior varsity teams totaling 35 students. Those participation numbers are important, but the performance of the teams in their first meet of the season on Saturday, Jan. 6, at Foley High School was also impressive.

Buffalo teams took first and second place in both the varsity and JV divisions of the meet, which included 47 teams from schools across Region 7.

"It was a fantastic experience for all involved," said BHS Knowledge Bowl Coach Brandon Aldrich.

Buffalo Varsity 1 placed first with 101 points, only one point ahead of Buffalo Varsity 2, which took second place with 100 points. The third-place team was Sartell with 92.5 points.

In the fourth round, the top varsity room featured three Buffalo teams competing against other another. That unusual situation arose from a point-grabbing performance by Buffalo's Varsity 4 team, consisting of juniors Benjamin Diethelm, Seth Cotton, Basil Lefebvre, Owen Bienias, and Gavin Anifson, who racked up 28 points in Room 3 during the Round 3 oral competition.

The JV teams earned plenty of success too, with JV 1 taking first place with 88 points and JV 2 finishing second with 86 points. Taking third in the JV division was Sauk Rapids with 76 points, a 12-point spread. Buffalo JV 3 was also among the top teams present, only 0.5 points behind Big Lake's 71-point fourth-place finish.

Overall, it was an encouraging start for the program, which began practices in December.

"The coaches and supporters are so proud of the success of the teams, and they cannot wait to see what is in store for the rest of the season," said Aldrich.

Top team members
First place, Varsity 1: Juniors Kumail Akram, Daniel Jungwirth, Eric Bajema, Dexter Huss, Lucas Lawrence
Second place, Varsity 2: Seniors Maria Whalen, Toney Leintz, Avery McCallum, Lexi Zheng, Chris Roehlke

First place, JV 1: Nolan Rabon (10), Lucas Talbot (9), Michael Schroeder (9), Mitchell Nosbush (10), Isaac Gustafson (9)
Second place, JV 2: Jacob Muellerleile (10), Drake Hermann (10), Ven Estrada (10), Koben McCallum (10), Dust Tecca (10)