“It was the final 10 seconds against Belmont. Andreas Bai ’27 buzzed in after hearing only half the question and just said, ‘French.’ We won by five points,” You-Yan Wang ’26, a three-year player, said. The Upper School (US) Quiz Show Team won the Season 17 state championship against Sharon High School on May 16.

    While many High School Quiz Show teams focus on memorization and trivia knowledge, the school’s team built its success by staying calm under pressure, You-Yan said.

    “We’ve been really able to perfect a strategy for winning a game,” he said. “We huddle very closely to make sure that we can all hear each other so it’s not just an individual effort. It doesn’t matter how many points the other team has. If we can play our best game, we can probably win the game.”

    When trailing late in matches, players relied on trust, chemistry and quick mental resets to come back in matches, Quiz Show Player Dean Riaz ’28 said.

    “In almost all of our games, we’re always trailing in the end. So we regroup and try to lock in,” he said.

    Having a cohesive group is beneficial in matches when the stakes are high, Dean said.

    “We have great team dynamics, so that makes us work well together, especially during stressful times,” he said. “We’re friends, so it’s more like team building than actual Quiz Show practice.”

    Quiz Show Team Captain Andreas has been on the team since freshman year.

     “My role is to guide the team through practices and matches,” Andreas said. “I use what I learned from my freshman and sophomore years to guide the team along and do well. Getting direct advice from a former captain who won the show was really helpful.”

    Andreas said mistakes are part of the game.

    “We just kind of move on. If someone misses a question, we forget about it and try to get the next one,” he said.

    While preparing, it is difficult to cover all bases, Andreas said.

    “We practice for the things that will make us successful in the actual competition,” Andreas said. “We practice our teamwork and practice getting in on the buzzer first.”

    US English Teacher and High School Quiz Show Team Faculty Advisor Sam Crihfield said the mentality of the team was the driving factor of their success this year.

    “This team had a really strong belief in themselves, and they never gave up even when they were down in the matches,” he said.

    Mr. Crihfield said the team is led primarily by the students.

    “We are glorified cheerleaders with some help in terms of strategy and logistics,” Mr. Crihfield said. “Mr. Rollinson and I help out by keeping track of what kind of questions we are getting so we can help the team with figuring out strategy during the match; we go up and talk with them between the different rounds, which is something you don’t see on the televised show.”