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Week 1 Recap: Four Teams Undefeated; Stout Scores Everywhere
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The 2024-25 season began similar to the way last season ended--Mustangs and Rough Riders at the top of the standings. After Week 1 of the Middle School Division, four teams currently stand at 5-0, separated only by the points per tossup heard tiebreaker. In lieu of a Game of the Week feature, recaps for each school are below the jump.
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TEAM RECAPS
Meadows
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The defending champions got off to a fast start, largely in part to some added confidence from their performance in last week's HS matches. Meadows A, B, and C are currently first through third thanks to big scores all throughout the day. Team A is currently averaging 31.5 points per tossup heard and 24.71 points per bonus. Their best moment of the day came in Round 4 when they missed a grail by just one tossup, clearing 23 of 24. In addition, their final score of 855 points is a new league record for a single game. Nearby, Team B matched Team A in 10s (60) and had only 9 fewer powers (35 to A's 44). Just like last year, they are about even statistically with their counterparts. Meanwhile, Team C surged after their surprise run to the state finals back in February. One of their highest marks of the day came from Kayleb Hague's 160 points (4-11-2) against Lone Mountain. His performance is a new league record for points by an individual in a single game during the regular season, beating the previous mark of 155 held by Ben Vinocur and Theo Perez.
While those three teams came into the year with high expectations, the remaining 5 Mustang teams entered the season with the sole goal of gaining experience. Each found a way to get that done today, and it wasn't just because each team found a way to win at least 1 game. Teams D and E are averaging about 250 points per game, well above their totals from this time last year. F, G, and H--all teams with large amounts of rookie 6th graders--eclipsed the previous marks set by squads with those letters from last season as well. Regardless of the records, the Mustangs are pleased with the start of their season. |
The Meadows Mustangs
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Rogich
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The Rough Riders are already performing as advertised. Team A put up a robust 408 points per game, including a very satisfying 325-255 victory over a tough Coral Academy team. Andrei Nasol once again is leading the way. After 5 rounds, he sits atop the individual standings at 5.27 points per tossup heard (7-52-6). Team A also closed their day with 3 straight master classes on bonus conversion, going 19.38, 18.13, and 18.75 respectively for rounds 3, 4, and 5. Their next 3 matchups on 10/19 are White B, Faith Lutheran, and then a marquee matchup with Meadows B.
Rogich B went 1-4 on the day but definitely found their groove by the final 2 rounds. In Round 4, they triumphed over a veteran White A squad, 375-200. They nearly rode that momentum all the way into another win during round 5, except they fell just short of taking down Coral Academy, 295-290. Zachary Ferguson leads the way for his team, averaging 1.96 points per tossup heard and posting a 4-19-3 line for the day. |
Rogich
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Coral Academy
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Returning several veterans from last season, the Falcons began the season with victories in 4 out of 5 matches. Their wins came over Meadows D, White A, Meadows F, and Rogich B. Their best performance of the day came in Round 4 against Meadows F, a 445-85 romp in which the Falcons averaged 18.54 points per tossup heard. They also had lots to be proud of after their Round 3 win against White A, in which they averaged 21.67 points per bonus. Dhruv Soundarapandian leads his team just as he did last year. After 5 rounds, he sits 4th overall individually (4.21 PPTUH). Dhruv's best line of the day also came in that Meadows F game, as he put up 3-11-3 for 140. Their next 3 games are against Meadows H, Lone Mountain, and Meadows G.
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Coral Academy
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Faith Lutheran
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Even though the Crusaders are younger this year, their stats suggest they are already better than they were the previous season. Through 5 games, Faith Lutheran is at 2-3 with wins over Meadows G and Meadows H. Opponents aside, the Crusaders are already averaging 189 points per game and 11.14 points per bonus. That's extremely encouraging for their long-term prospects. Jacqueline Cyrus has jumped out in front from the rest of her teammates, going 5-17-1 for 240 and currently sitting in 8th place overall individually. Their next 3 games should tell a lot about their growth--Meadows A, Rogich A, and White A. That's a meat grinder, for sure.
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Faith Lutheran
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White
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To be fair to the Challengers, they are far better than what their record suggests at the moment. When you look at how the schedule fell for Week 1, you can see why. White A opened with Meadows A, Rogich A, and Coral Academy. That's without question the toughest 3-game stretch anyone in the league had today. By the end of the day, though, their offseason work was justly rewarded with a 360-80 victory over Lone Mountain. Leah Miller led her team with a 2-18-4 line for 190 points. Right behind her is Ellie De La Cruz, who showed some of the best improvement out of anyone in the league during her time at this year's quiz bowl camp at Meadows. De La Cruz went 3-14-6 for 155. Given the strategies she picked up at camp, it's only a matter of time before her teammates get up to speed.
White B and White C also had difficult schedules to open the season. White B had to face five different Meadows opponents (A, C, E, G, H) while White C had to face four Meadows opponents (A, C, E, G) and Rogich A. However, with several difficult matches now out of the way, the schedule should start to lighten up for both of these teams. Kylie Higgins led all scorers for White B (2-17-2, 190) while Rhys Sash led White C (1-13-1, 140). |
White
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Lone Mountain
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Everyone in the league knew before the season started that Lone Mountain had some giant shoes to fill from last year. Rebuilds take time, but they can't finish until you actually go through them. Today marks one of those days for a program that will be better in the long run for the work they're doing right now. They faced off against 5 veteran squads (Meadows A/C/E, White A, Rogich A) and still put up decent scores considering the opponents. As she showed at Nationals last year, Layla Stratton remains the future of this program. She went 2-9-3 for 105 and averaged 21 points per game. After 5 rounds, she leads her team in all individual scoring categories. Her supporting crew of 6th graders have an excellent example to learn from as the season progresses.
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Lone Mountain
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Registration For 2024-25 Season Now Closed; Wait-list Open
The pyramidal scene continues to rise in popularity here in Las Vegas, so much so that we have reached our capacity for the 2024-25 season in both divisions. Registration for our wait-list is now available. If you are interested in joining the wait-list, please fill out the form on our registration page. Also, if you would like more information about the Nevada State Tournament (scheduled for February 2025), please fill out that form as well.
2024-25 League Information
Thanks for visiting the official web page of the Las Vegas Quiz Bowl Alliance!
For more information on our ninth year of competition, please visit our Why Join? page. Also, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] for any additional questions about the league and how to join.
And while you're here, go ahead and take a moment to check out:
For more information on our ninth year of competition, please visit our Why Join? page. Also, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] for any additional questions about the league and how to join.
And while you're here, go ahead and take a moment to check out:
- How the game is played
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