Thomas Jefferson Classical

Thomas Jefferson Classical
Location: Mooresboro, NC
State Championships	NCASA MS: 2013
National Championships	None
National Appearances	HSNCT: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016 MSNCT: 2013
Program Status	Active
School Size	1300
NAQT Page	link

Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy is a K-12 charter school in Mooresboro, North Carolina. US News & World Report ranked it 5th in North Carolina for the 2012-2013 school year. Thomas Jefferson Classical is coached by Sally Harbin and Kimberley Lloyd. They host the annual Gryphon Bowl in October. Thomas Jefferson Classical fields both middle and high school teams.

History

TJ Classical is first recorded in NAQT tournament results during the 2007-2008 season, when the school sent three teams (2 JV) to South Caldwell's Western NC Shootout. In the 2008-2009 season, the school's teams placed fifth at the September Wofford Invitational, 16th at the October Viking Invitational, 17th at the December Speedway Shootout, 15th at the February Quaker Bowl and third at the JV division of the Western NC Shootout in March. TJ Classical started the 2009-2010 season with a 9th place finish out of 21 at the Crusader Cup. Two weeks later, they finished 5th at the Viking Invitational, almost tripling their previous year's score. On October 24th the school finished 17th out of 30 at the Speedway Shootout. In March TJ Classical gained 6th place at the Western NC Shootout and a week and a month later were 3rd place at the 2010 NCOAST. At the Dorman Season Ender they also placed third.

TJ Classical began the 2010-2011 season with a third place finish at Crusader Cup. A week later, A Team finished seventh at Quaker Bowl. On October 30th, their A Team won the Viking Invitational (seemingly their first NAQT set tournament victory). In January the team placed ninth at the Bulldog Brawl. In late March they were fourth at the NCASA West District Tournament. TJ Classical then won the inaugural Conway Academic Tournament and achieved 4th place at the 2011 NCASA High School Quiz Bowl State Championship a few weeks later. TJ Classical's HS A team then placed 2nd at the year's Dorman Season Ender and its MS A team won the MS division of the tournament. The year was not yet over for TJ Classical and their team attended the 2011 HSNCT, their first national championship, placing 170th.

2011-12

After the 2010-11 season, TJ's entire A team graduated, so the team went into rebuild mode. The Freshmen Bradley Lloyd, Danny Federici, Max Teddy and David Advent all joined the A team. In October, TJ Classical placed second at the Newton-Conover NCASA Open and 12th at the Quaker Bowl. A team of the A Team freshmen and two 8th graders won the JV division of Crusader Cup and the vasity A Team placed fourth. At the Wake Forest Brain Summit the school's team place seventh out of eleven. They were fourth at the West District Tournament in March. At the NCASA state championship the school placed eighth. The team finished out the season wit ha 3rd place finish at the Dorman Season Ender tournament.

2012-13

TJ Classical began the 2012-2013 season by winning the Crusader Cup JV division and placing 13th at the varsity division. The school emerged as the victor in the NCASA Weekly Meets and again placed eighth at the Wake Forest Brain Summit. Its middle school team won the NCASA Charlotte Regionals and its high school team placed fourth. On April 13th, TJ Classical placed 2nd at the high school state championship and won the inaugural middle school state championship. With a team of Alex Harrelson, Eli Hornback, Goutam Gadiraju, Drew Hoyle, and Nick Longerbeam, the middle school team took an impressive 33rd place finish at the 2013 MSNCT that finished out one of TJ's most successful years yet.

2013-14

The 2013-2014 season began with a tenth place finish at the Quaker Bowl. At the NCASA Robinson Fall Tournament two weeks later, the team placed 2nd in the Varsity division. At the beginning of December TJ Classical won the small Highland Tech Fall Invitational, with Max Teddy being the tournament's top scorer and Federici being third. In March, the team won the NCASA Regional Tournament West. At the High School state championships the team placed third, with Bradley Lloyd being a top ten scorer, and went on to the 2014 HSNCT, this time finishing 194th.

2014-15

All of the teams A-team members entered their senior year going into the 2014-15 season. The season began with a C Team, led by standout sophomore Alex Harrelson, finishing 2nd in the JV division of the Crusader Cup, with the A Team placing 4th in the Varsity division and Max Teddy being in the top ten individual scorers. The school also hosted the inaugural Gryphon Bowl. Four TJ Classical teams played, with their A team placing second. At Dorman Fall TJ Classical gained second place and then won the small Isothermal Community College Senior Challenge. The team went on to win the NCASA Regional Tournament West again, qualifying for the state championship. At the state championship, the team was without Lloyd and Teddy, so sophomores Harrelson and Drew Hoyle replaced them on the team. Despite these roster changes, the team still placed third, with Federici being among the top ten scorers. The middle school team also won the small Isothermal Community College Junior Challenge. The high school team qualified for the 2015 HSNCT, finishing 190th. Max Teddy also posted a ppg of 39.51, to this date the highest ever ppg at an HSNCT by a TJ Classical player. TJ Classical sent their B team, composed of Harrelson, Addison Conn, Jordan McIntyre, Sully Carpenter, and Nick Longerbeam, to the PACE NSC as well, finishing 83rd. Harrelson also posted a PPG of 41.33, the highest PPG at a national tournament by a TJ Classical player to this date.

2015-16

Despite their losing their elite foursome of Teddy, Lloyd, Federici, and Advent, TJ Classical looked strong heading into the 2015-16 season, returning Harrelson, Hoyle, and Conn, and adding Goutam Gadiraju and Eli Hornback to the team, who had played in middle school. In September, TJ Classical placed 17th at the Ezell-Harding Academic Tournament. After placing 6th at the second Gryphon Bowl, TJ Classical A finished 5th at the Dorman Fall Tournament, with Harrelson finsihing as a top ten individual scorer. Standout freshman John Kim from the B team was also a top ten individual scorer. In October, TJ Classical A won the Crusader Cup, wiht Harrelson from the A team and Kim from the B team again finishing as top ten individual scorers. At the Clemson University Tigertown Throwdown, the normal A Team was not present, so a makeshift A team led by Kim replaced them, finishing 11th out of 23, with Kim yet again finishing as a top 10 scorer. In February, the middle school team again won the Isothermal Junior Challenge and placed 2nd at the NCASA Charlotte Regional. On the same day, the high school team won the NCASA Regional Tournament West and soon after a team of Harrelson, Hoyle, Gadiraju, and Conn placed third at the high school state championship. Harrelson and Hoyle were top 10 scorers as well. The middle school team placed 9th at the middle school championship, and the high school team attended the 2016 HSNCT. For the HSNCT, the team was without Harrelson and Hornback, and so Sully Carpenter and Nick Longerbeam replaced them. The team placed 238th.

External links

• School website
• NAQT Stats page