Savannah (Missouri High School)

Savannah
Location: Savannah, MO
Coaches	Melissa Ross
State Championships	1994, 1995 MAA Class 3 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012 MSHSAA Class 3 2011 NAQT
National Championships	1988 ASCN
National Appearances	numerous TOCs every HSNCT since 2007
Program Status	Unknown
School Size	Unknown
NAQT Page	link

Savannah High School is a public school in Savannah, Missouri, just north of St. Joseph. Savannah is currently one of the largest schools in MSHSAA Class 3 and is occasionally bumped up to Class 4, most recently in 2009 and 2010.

Savannah has been one of the best teams in Missouri year after year, winning two MAA and six MSHSAA state titles as well as the 1988 TOC. Since 2000, the school has placed in the top 3 in its class at MSHSAA state every year except in 2009 and 2010, when the school was (along with Mexico) the smallest in Class 4. Savannah most recently won the 2011 NAQT Missouri Qualifier and the 2011 MSHSAA State Championship in Class 3.

Under coach Melissa Ross, Savannah primarily attends Missouri Quizbowl Alliance certified events, traveling across the state several times every season, and has attended HSNCT every year since 2007. The team went 6-4 in the preliminary rounds in 2008, 2011, and 2012, but each time was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Former coach Bill Luce led the team to many of its strong finishes before his coaching retirement in 2007, and remains a significant influence on quizbowl in Missouri.

Tournament Hosting

Savannah usually hosts a Varsity and a Junior Varsity tournament each year, each in a four-quarter format with shorter questions usually provided by Show-Me Questions, an organization founded by Luce. During Luce's tenure as coach and the height of ASCN, the tournament frequently drew teams from several surrounding states. Today, the tournament typically only draws teams from the immediate area and a few teams from Kansas City.

NAQT Invitational

See Savannah NAQT

In March 2011, in an attempt to introduce good quizbowl to the northwestern part of the state, Savannah hosted a second varsity tournament on IS-98, which was the first Savannah tournament to be MOQBA certified. Savannah intended to use a more field-appropriate A set, but none were available due to NAQT using most of the A-sets to construct the district and state sets [1]. As a result, reception was not particularly positive, and there was some uncertainty as to whether or not Savannah would host another NAQT tournament. Ultimately, the 2012 Varsity tournament was run on IS-114A on March 10, taking the place of the traditional format. The tournament continues to be hosted in the 20 tossup/bonus format on NAQT questions, but has unfortunately returned to using single-elimination playoffs.

Succession of minor titles

ASCN TOC Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Carolina	1988	Georgetown Day

MAA Class 3 State Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Liberty	1994, 1995	(tournament succeeded by four-class MSHSAA championship)

MSHSAA Class 3 State Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Salem	2002, 2003, 2004	Westminster Christian
Westminster Christian	2006	John Burroughs
Priory	2011, 2012	Priory

NAQT Missouri Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Helias	2011	Ladue