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Photo courtesy of Westwood Public Schools. (L to R) Quiz Bowl team members Shane MacDonald, Hayato Moy, Alexander Balaeff, Jacob Cicerchia, Yuhan Chen, and Duanmu Jiang with Coach Jared Sargent.
3-08-2026 12:37am
After Elimination in Second Round of High School Quiz Show, WHS Quiz Bowl Team Looks Ahead to National Competition in June
Darlene Cancell
Editor
Thanks to Westwood Public Schools for contributing this news to Westwood Minute.
Do you know what the tallest mountain in Scotland is? Or could you come up with the answer for this question: Which composer’s “12 Fantasies for Viola de Gamba” solo was considered lost until 2015? Those are just two questions students participating in high school Quiz Bowl competitions have been asked to answer. (In case you are wondering, Ben Nevis is the tallest mountain in Scotland, and that composer was George Phillip Telemann.)
Westwood High School’s (WHS) Quiz Bowl team is only in its third year, but it’s already finding success. The student team competes against teams from other Massachusetts high schools. These questions aren’t easy and might easily challenge any contestant on Jeopardy.
“I think the main goal of our Quiz Bowl club is to allow kids who have interests in various subjects to have a chance to show that off,” said WHS junior Yuhan Chen. “There are a lot of niche subjects and, in general, people who have niche passions don’t really have a chance to show that off.”
The team did well enough to be invited to participate in the Emmy-Award winning Quiz Show, which airs on WGBH-TV. The team won their first round but was bested by only 10 points in the second round of the single-elimination tournament. Their episode aired on GBH in February 2026.
“These are such great kids and are very easy to work with,” said team coach Jared Sargent. “They do a lot of work on their own and it’s cool to take them to tournaments and see them show off their hard work.”
Photo courtesy of Westwood Public School. Westwood High School’s Quiz Bowl team are relaxed when not competing in High School Quiz Show.“We practice a lot,” said WHS junior Jacob Cicerchia. “Most of the time we will play a Quiz Bowl round and get everyone split into two teams.”
The team has several more competitions coming up to finish the 2025/2026 season and is excited to travel to Chicago in June for a national Quiz Bowl competition.
