Honaker

Honaker
Location: Honaker, VA
Coaches	Charlie Perkins                           (Head Coach; 2015-present) Caleb Perkins                         (Assistant Coach; 2017-2019) Danielle Kinder (2014-2015) Alex Zachwieja (1995-2014) Kevin Stilwell (1995-2005)
State Championships	VHSL 1A: 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
National Appearances	2017 SSNCT
Program Status	Active
School Size	438 Students (8-12)
NAQT Page	link

Honaker is a very small school in far southwestern Virginia. They are known as the most decorated & storied Academic Team in the region, winning 9 VHSL Region D championships as well as 4 Region 1A West/Super Region 1CD championships, whilst also advancing to the VHSL Scholastic Bowl state tournament 17 times in the format's 22 year history. Honaker has been classified as a VHSL Group A school (1998-2013), VHSL Class 1A (2014-2017), and is currently classified as a VHSL Class 1 school.

The team has won 4 VHSL State Runner-Up titles (2010, 2012, 2013, 2018) and 4 VHSL 1A State Championships (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019), leading all current Class 1 teams in both achievements.

VHSL Season Records

Years in bold indicate a VHSL State Championship season. Years in italics indicate a VHSL State Runner-Up season.

Year	Overall Record	Scrimmages	District Season	Conf. 47 Season	District/Conf Trn.	Region D/Region 1D	1A West/Super Region	VHSL State	PPG
1998	2-2	None	2-0; 1st			0-2		DNQ
1999	18-5	None	10-0; 1st		6-1; 1st	2-2; 2nd		0-2
2000	12-5	None	10-1; 1st		1-2; 3rd	1-2		DNQ
2001	13-3	None	10-1; 1st		3-0; 1st	0-2		DNQ
2002	19-7	6-2	8-1; 1st		3-0; 1st	2-2; 2nd		0-2	130.8
2003	20-6	7-2	6-2; 2nd		3-0; 1st	4-0; 1st		0-2
2004	21-8	6-4	7-1; 1st		3-0; 1st	5-1; 1st		0-2	139.1
2005	18-6	7-3	7-1; 1st		3-0; 1st	1-2		DNQ
2006	27-7	13-3	8-0; 1st		1-2; 3rd	4-0; 1st		1-2; 5th	152.5
2007	19-7	5-5	8-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	3-0; 1st		0-2	166.5
2008	23-5	9-1	8-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	3-2; 2nd		0-2	188.5
2009	25-4	8-1	8-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	4-1; 1st		2-2; 4th	210.5
2010	34-3	16-1	8-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	4-0; 1st		3-2; 2nd	263.3
2011	24-6	10-3	6-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	4-1; 1st		1-2; 5th	233.5
2012	33-2	13-0	10-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	4-0; 1st		3-2; 2nd	262.8
2013	34-2	14-0	10-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	4-0; 1st		3-2; 2nd	283.6
2014	38-0	14-0	10-0; 1st	12-0; 1st	3-0; 1st		4-0; 1st	3-0; 1st	310.4
2015	15-5	None	7-3; 2nd	11-1; 1st	3-0; 1st		1-2; 5th	DNQ	196.5
2016	28-7	6-5	8-0; 1st	10-2; 2nd	3-0; 1st		4-0; 1st	3-0; 1st	203.4
2017	36-6	13-5	7-1; 1st	12-0; 1st	3-0; 1st		4-0; 1st	3-0; 1st	249.1
2018	23-6	6-0	6-2; 2nd		3-0; 1st	4-2; 2nd	3-0; 1st	1-2; 2nd	244.8
2019	27-0	6-0	8-0, 1st		3-0; 1st	4-0; 1st	3-0; 1st	3-0; 1st	288.2
2020	21-5	4-1	8-0; 1st		3-0; 1st	3-0; 1st	2-2; 2nd	1-2; 4th	236.2
Totals	530-107		180-13	45-3	65-5		77-23 (Region & Super R.)	27-29

Non-Scholastic Bowl Performances

The 2007-2008 season was the first year for Honaker in non-VHSL formats since 1997, when it placed a local format known as "PACE" (no known relation to PACE).

Due to the geographic isolation of Honaker and Southwest Virginia in general (ex. reaching an interstate from Honaker High School takes approx. 1 hour), their participation in weekend invitationals is typically limited to the areas of Virginia's New River Valley, western North Carolina, Northeast Tennessee, and northwestern South Carolina.

To put it in perspective, far-Southwest Virginia teams have a shorter drive to five or more state capitals (at a minimum: Nashville, Frankfort, Raleigh, Columbia, and Charleston) than to their own capital of Richmond.

Because of the region's difficult access and isolation from the state's main quiz bowl events, the Southwest Virginia Academic Team Alliance, also known as SWATA, was founded in part by Honaker and several other schools in the region in 2016. Beginning with the 2016-2017 school year, SWATA put together a series of four annual quiz bowl invitationals that were open to far-Southwest Virginia schools only. Honaker hosted SWATA's inaugural event, the Redbud Invitational, and followed in 2017 with the first Steele Memorial Invitational.

Semester/Year	Tournament	A Team	B Team
Fall 2007	EQUINE I at Auburn High School (Riner, VA)	5-2, 2nd place	3-5, 3rd place
Fall 2007	Cave Spring Invitational II	4-2, 5th place	1-5, 11th place
Fall 2008	Cavalier Classic XIII @ UVa	6-3, 8th place
Fall 2008	EQUINE II at Auburn High School	6-2, 5th place
Fall 2008	Cave Spring Invitational III	6-3, 5th place
Spring 2009	Robinson Invitational IV (NC)	5-2, 5th place
Fall 2009	Roanoke College Fall Invitational	4-2, 2nd place
Fall 2009	Cave Spring Invitational IV	4-4, 9th place
Spring 2010	Robinson Invitational V (NC)	4th place (as Robert Zimmerman HS)
Fall 2010	Cave Spring Invitational V	5-3, 5th place
Spring 2011	Cave Spring NCIS	4-4, 5th place
Fall 2011	Fall Novice @ VA Tech	5-4, 5th place	4-4-1, 9th place
Fall 2011	Cave Spring Invitational VI	4-6, 6th place	3-7
Spring 2012	Cave Spring NCIS II	6-4, 4th place	3-7, 15th place
Spring 2012	Virginia Tech Spring Invitational	5-6, 4th place
Fall 2012	Cavalier Classic XV @ UVa	6-4, 7th place	3-7, 15th place
Fall 2012	Cave Spring Invitational VII	6-4, 4th place	5-5, 6th place
Spring 2013	Cave Spring NCIS III	6-4, 4th place	5-5, 7th place
Spring 2013	Virginia Tech Spring Invitational	7-2, 3rd place (as Schrodinger's Academy)
Fall 2013	Blacksburg Invitational II	7-2, 3rd place	4-4, 8th place
Fall 2013	Cave Spring Invitational VIII	9-1, 1st place
Spring 2014	Dorman Cavalier Challenge	6-2, 8th place
Fall 2014	Cave Spring Invitational IX	3-7, 8th place
Fall 2015	Cave Spring Invitational X	7-3, 17th place	4-6, 16th place
Fall 2015	VOLDEMORT Novice @ VA Tech	4-4, 8th place	1-7, 18th place
Fall 2015	Demon Deacon Challenge @ Wake Forest	5-3, 4th place (as Honaker "B")	0-6, 15th place
Fall 2015	SWATA NAQT Round Robin	2-0, 1st place
Spring 2016	Cave Spring NCIS V	7-3, 3rd place	5-5, 4th place
Fall 2016	VTACO @ VA Tech	3-7, 6th place	1-9, 12th place
Fall 2016	Legion Memorial Invitational Tournament	8-1, 2nd place	3-6, 7th place
Fall 2016	Cave Spring Invitational XI	6-4, 7th place
Fall 2016	Tornado Invitational	5-4, 5th place
Spring 2017	Bulldog Invitational Tournament	10-0, 1st place	4-6, 10th place
Spring 2017	NCIS VI	3-7, 6th place
Spring 2017	2017 SSNCT	5-5, T-41st, T-19th (Very Small Schools)
Fall 2017	Legion Memorial Invitational Tournament II	5-4, 3rd place
Fall 2017	BEARCAT at VA High School	6-3, 4th place	4-5, 5th place
Fall 2017	Cave Spring Invitational XII	7-3, 10th place	4-6, 31st place
Spring 2018	Bulldog Invitational Tournament II	7-2, 3rd place	4-5, 5th place
Spring 2018	NCIS VII at Cave Spring	5-3, 3rd place	2-6, 11th place
Fall 2018	Virginia Tech Fall Kickoff	6-5, 8th place	5-5
Fall 2018	Secret City Classic	5-5, 6th place	3-4
Fall 2018	Legion Memorial Invitational III	8-0, 1st place	5-3, 9th place
Fall 2018	Cave Spring Invitational XIII	9-2, 4th place	4-6
Fall 2018	State Line Showdown	9-1, 1st place	3-7, 9th place
Spring 2019	Tornado Invitational 2	9-0, 1st place	8-2, 2nd place
Fall 2019	Virginia Tech Fall Tournament	5-3, 6th place	0-8
Fall 2019	Legion Memorial Invitational IV	9-0, 1st place	2-7
Fall 2019	Cave Spring Invitational XIV	7-4, 5th place	1-9
Fall 2019	State Line Showdown II
Spring 2020	Tornado Invitational III
	Total Tournaments Played: 49	A Team All Time Record: 281-149 (on record)
	First Place Finishes: 7	Second Place Finishes: 4 (1 from B Team)	Top 5s: 35 (1 from B Team; 69.4%)

Typical "A" Lineup

Year	Players	Nationals Qualification(s)
2008	Orville Herndon, Garrett Cook, John Musick, Jordon Van Dyke
2009	John Musick, Jordon Van Dyke, Charlie Perkins, Alyssa Hubbard
2010	Charlie Perkins, Alyssa Hubbard, Josh O'Quinn, Nick Hubbard	2010 HSNCT
2011	Alyssa Hubbard, Jacob Mitchell, Nick Hubbard, Taylor Richardson
2012	Jacob Mitchell, Nick Hubbard, Taylor Richardson, Ashleigh Dye
2013	Jacob Mitchell, Taylor Richardson, Ashleigh Dye, Morgan Stacy / Mason Boyd
2014	Jacob Mitchell, Ashleigh Dye, Mason Boyd, Lindsey Dye	2014 SSNCT
2015	Mason Boyd, Lindsay Barton, Jacob Dye, Austin Hall
2016	Madison Ramsey, Caleb Perkins, Aidan Cook, Holly Lester	2016 HSNCT, 2016 SSNCT, 2016 NSC
2017	Lindsay Barton, Caleb Perkins, Aidan Cook, Holly Lester	2017 HSNCT, 2017 SSNCT, 2017 NSC
2018	Aidan Cook, Makayla Shortt, McKenzie Sykes, Patrick Hess/Heath Hubbard	2018 HSNCT, 2018 SSNCT, 2018 NSC
2019	Aidan Cook, Makayla Shortt, McKenzie Sykes, Patrick Hess/Heath Hubbard	2019 HSNCT, 2019 SSNCT, 2019 NSC
2020	Makayla Shortt, McKenzie Sykes, Cassie Adkins, Abigail Sykes	2020 HSNCT, 2020 SSNCT, 2020 NSC

Other Notes

• From 2007 through 2014, Honaker had an undefeated streak of 102 games at the district/conference level, including both regular season and tournaments. A record that still stands (after the 2018 season) is Honaker's 12-year undefeated streak at the district/conference tournament in order to qualify for Regionals. Honaker has never failed to make a VHSL regional tournament appearance in Scholastic Bowl's history, and has only failed to qualify for VHSL States 5 times since 1998.

• Former Honaker coach Alex Zachwieja was a member of the VHSL Scholastic Bowl Advisory Committee (2009-2011), and finished his coaching career with over 400 victories along with an eight-year undefeated streak in the Black Diamond District/Crooked Road Conference. Teams under his tutelage also won six straight Regional-level titles. Zachwieja retired from Honaker High School after the 2014 state championship season, bringing an end to his 20-year tenure as head coach of Honaker's academic competition teams (1995-2014).

• Honaker's 2014 Captain and top scorer in team history, Jacob Mitchell, once held the NAQT Record for most Points Per Tossup Heard in one game (on an IIS set or harder), with a stat line of 13-4-1 for 230 PPTUH.

• After a year of minimal activity in 2015 and with no remaining players from the 2014 state championship season, the team was turned over to one of Zachwieja's former players, Charlie Perkins in 2016. Under his guidance, the team has returned to prominence once again, winning two consecutive 1A State Championships-- the first VHSL team in Russell County to ever do so in sports or academic competitions. Perhaps more astounding is that neither team featured a player with more than 2 years of Scholastic Bowl experience; the 2016 team, in fact, had 6 of its 7 players in their rookie season.

• After their back-to-back VHSL 1A State Championships in 2016 & 2017, Honaker returned to the VHSL State Tournament in 2018 and earned Runner-Up honors despite having a Senior-less lineup and only one returning 'starter' from its consecutive title run-- Sophomore Aidan Cook-- who would be named to the State All-Star Team as the #4 scorer across VHSL Classes 1-6.

• Honaker made its debut on the national stage at the 2017 NAQT Small School National Championship Tournament after its 20th year of playing VHSL and 10th year playing NAQT format. Despite only having 3 of their 7 players in attendance, they qualified for the playoffs and finished tied for 41st place, while also finishing within the top 20 Very Small Schools. Honaker's Captain, Caleb Perkins, earned the distinction of 19th individual scorer in the tournament, as well as the 13th-best scorer from a very small school-- the first Top 20 individual finish at the national level for any Virginian west of the New River Valley.

VHSL State Class 1 Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Galileo Magnet	2019	'''''

VHSL State Class 1A Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Honaker	2017	Galileo Magnet

VHSL State Class 1A Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
Rappahannock Co.	2016	Honaker

VHSL State Class 1A Champion
Preceded by	Year	Succeeded by
None (Class Created)	2014	Rappahannock Co.