Quiz Bowl Update

by: Janessa Andiorio '13

        ALERT: Paramus Catholic students have done it again! Warning, the following article contains content that is not suitable for those who cannot handle an overload of victory! Once again, Mr. Fidemi was able to prepare and conquer this year’s MSG Varsity TV competition, “The Challenge.” With his ready army of Paladins, the Quiz Bowl team placed sixth in The Challenge after facing forty-eight other teams from all over New Jersey. Whether it was the whole team or just the varsity members, each student helped lead the Quiz Bowl team to victory this year and brought their A-game; naturally doing what Paladins do best.

        Mr. Fidemi has been running the Quiz Bowl for about twelve years now, and each year he looks forward to versing the competition and seeing how far the team can go. In an interview he informed the Paladin Press that, “The Quiz Bowl team participates in several academic competitions during the school year. Our primary focus the past few years has been the MSG Varsity TV competition, The Challenge. We've also competed in tournaments at Leonia High School, Millburn H.S., Chatham H.S., and many other high schools over the past several years.” The great part about Quiz Bowl is that whether the team wins or loses, they go into every competition with a competitive and positive mind frame and regardless of the outcome leave with the same attitude. On the subject of this year’s toughest competitor, Mr. Fidemi informed the Paladin Press that, “The best competitor in the last few years has been my alma mater, St. Joseph High School of Metuchen. This year Mountain Lakes proved to be a formidable opponent.” One of the Quiz Bowls highlighted moment this year was during this year's 
The Challenge. It was Paramus Catholic verses Ridgewood High School, in the third round match of The Challenge where winning came down to the last question of the contest. The team who answered the question correctly would win the match; suspense filled the air and as soon as the question was asked PC jumped on it and won the match!

        When the Paladin Press got a chance to interview Samantha Lehmbeck, a varsity team member who participated in this year's The Challenge, she clarified what Quiz Bowl was, “Quiz Bowl is like team jeopardy for high school. We have two sections: everyone and our varsity team. Our varsity team participates in MSG Varsity's The Challenge. Everyone in Quiz Bowl can participate in local competitions.” Even though Miss Lehmbeck is on the varsity team, she is not a senior; she is actually a sophomore who joined the Quiz Bowl team this year. Mr. Fidemi welcomes students from all grades to join the club and realizes that it can be a lot of fun. Samantha Lehmbeck remarked, “It [Quiz Bowl] was a lot of fun and had a friendly vibe to it when I first walked in. I honestly thought it would be a lot more formal and rigid in terms of the atmosphere.” When asked what the highlight of Quiz Bowl is, she answered , “The highlight of Quiz Bowl for me is being able to see how much I actually know. Plus you get to actually use those subjects that you NEVER thought that you would use.” Quiz Bowl is done for this year, but anyone who is interested in joining next year should ask Mr. Fidemi for additional information. This year's Quiz Bowl Team did an awesome job in all their competitions and the Paladin Press would just like to say Congratulations and good luck for next year.