On Saturday, February 13th, Elkhorn North’s Quiz Bowl took part in the Iowa Winter Open competition in Sioux City.
Led by junior captain Noah Detloff, the team took home second place and showed once again why they have state championship potential.
In quiz bowl, the teams are made up of four students who work separately and also in tandem to score points by answering questions together.
The participants are each asked an individual question, and if they answer correctly, they receive a bonus question, in which they can confer with their teammates to develop a new answer.
Although Detloff is always stellar, in the Winter Open he was truly on fire. He answered the first 11 questions correctly, leading to the team getting nine of the bonus questions correct as well.
Detloff is not only a significant part of the team’s success, but he is a great leader as well.
Melissa Peterson has been the quiz bowl coach since 2022, and has seen many members of the team come and go.
“Noah really is a good leader. He does a nice job of making sure that he talks to his entire team on bonus questions,” said Peterson. “If there’s a question that he knows that the other students don’t and it’s math or science, he’ll take the time to explain how he got his answer.”
Detloff’s leadership helps his teammates build off his knowledge and raise the team standard.
“He (Detloff) truly is a great teammate,” senior quiz bowl participant Kason Krings said. “He is reliable, determined, and the type of leader that the team needs.”
The quiz bowl team practices Tuesdays and Fridays, with competitions on the weekends. These competitions stack up, leading to the state playoffs in April, where Detloff and his team hope to increase their state championship streak to three.
Detloff’s ability to answer the questions comes from a combination of practice and raw talent.
“Noah just has this amazing wealth of knowledge,” said Peterson. “It doesn’t seem to be really rooted in one area or another. He’s just got a nice well-rounded broad depth of knowledge.”
