MSHSAA State Championship

A MSHSAA State Championship has been hosted for Scholar Bowl annually since 1996.

Predecessor

Prior to 1996, a state tournament was hosted by the Missouri Academic Association.

Format and Distribution

The MSHSAA state series uses a four-quarter format that is largely unchanged since inception:

• 1st quarter: 15 tossups
• 2nd quarter: 10 tossups with bonuses
• 3rd quarter: 15 tossups
• 4th quarter: 10 tossups with bonuses

All tossups are worth 10 points; all bonuses are worth 20 points. Previously, they contained four parts worth five points each, but starting in 2010, the four part bonuses were changed to two part bonuses worth ten points each. There are no powers or negs. The maximum score in a MSHSAA game is thus 900.

The Missouri distribution consists of:

• Science: 10/4
• Math: 10/4
• Social Studies: 10/4
• Literature: 10/4
• Fine Arts: 6/2
• Miscellaneous/Vocational Education: 4/2

The format and distribution used before 2010 were inherited from the MAA tournament. The original distribution included 3 tossups and 1 bonus in language arts; these questions were reassigned to fine arts in 2010. Combined with the change in bonus format also in 2010, the current Missouri format is uniquely MSHSAA's.

Districts and Sectionals

To participate in the MSHSAA state series, schools must register to participate in the activity for the current school year, which allows the school to participate in competitions against other MSHSAA member schools. The registered schools (usually a little over 400 each year) are then divided into four roughly equal classes based on enrollment. Enrollments are updated on a two year cycle in the summer of even years. Populations for private schools are multiplied by 1.35, and populations for single-gender schools are also doubled (which makes sense for single-gender sports but not so much for quizbowl). The schools are then divided within their classes into roughly equally-sized districts based on geographic proximity.

Districts are held in early April. District tournaments of four or more teams begin with three preliminary rounds with matchups based on random draw by teams. Based on the results of these games, the top 4 teams based on record then average points per game advance to a four team single-elimination bracket. District tournaments of three teams play a full round robin in the three rounds, then play a championship game between the top two teams. District tournaments with only two teams play a best two of three series.

From 1996-2008, each class had 8 districts, with the winner of each district advancing to the state tournament. Beginning in 2009, each class now has 16 districts, with the winners of two adjacent districts meeting on a Wednesday evening to play a best two-of-three series to determine which eight teams advance to the state tournament.

State Tournament

The state tournament is held in early May in Columbia. The tournament was previously hosted at Stephens College in 1996 and 1997, Columbia College in 1998, and Rock Bridge High School from 1999-2008 (except for 2000 when the tournament was held at Gentry Middle School). Since 2009, the tournament has been hosted in Memorial Union on the University of Missouri campus.

From 1996-2007, all four classes competed on Saturday. Since 2008, the tournament has been split to two days, with Classes 1 and 2 competing on Friday and Classes 3 and 4 competing on Saturday.

The tournament uses the same schedule as districts. Each team plays three preliminary rounds with predetermined matchups based on district/sectional number. Based on the results of these games, the top 4 teams based on record then average points per game advance to a four team single-elimination bracket. This format has been used consistently since the tournament's inception.

Question Providers

• 1996, 1997, 1998: unknown
• 1999-2002: The Question Bank (Bob Brown)
  • Following the 2002 season, Bob Brown began teaching at Richland
• 2003: Champions Quiz Prep
• 2004: Straight A
• 2005-2007: Bryce Avery
• 2008: Shawn Pickrell
• 2009-2010: Questions Galore
• 2011-present: NAQT

Color Key

	Set/matched record in all classes
	Set/matched class record

Championship Game Results

Indicated records are for highest score by a team with their placement in the championship game.

Year	Class 4 Champion	Class 4 Second Place	Class 3 Champion	Class 3 Second Place	Class 2 Champion	Class 2 Second Place	Class 1 Champion	Class 1 Second Place
1996	North Kansas City 350	Raytown 315	Cuba 385	Lexington 270	Richland 385	South Callaway 210	Mound City 320	Pilot Grove 255
1997	North Kansas City 425	Kirksville 290	Cuba 390	New Madrid Co. Central 240	Richland 415	Lockwood 280	Mound City 340	North Shelby 225
1998	North Kansas City 495	North County 135	Cuba 415	Lexington 190	Richland 400	North Platte 315	Mound City 465	North Shelby 155
1999	North Kansas City 415	Blue Springs 340	Priory 395	Lexington 295	Richland 420	Elsberry 170	Mound City 295	Pilot Grove 180
2000	Nixa 395	Savannah 260	Boonville 435	Cameron 265	Richland 390	Lincoln 300	Koshkonong 385	Thomas Jefferson 245
2001	Nixa 480	Liberty 290	Salem 335	Savannah 285	Richland 430	Lincoln 280	Koshkonong 300	Thomas Jefferson 230
2002	Cape Girardeau Central 375	Parkway Central 310	Savannah 415	Priory 260	Bernie 275	Purdy 200	Thomas Jefferson 320	Mound City 255
2003	Liberty 410	Parkway Central 380	Savannah 460	Montgomery County 255	Richland 350	Bernie 220	Thomas Jefferson 365	St. Joseph Christian 205
2004	Parkway Central 310	Liberty 255	Savannah 390	Westminster Christian 290	Richland 275	Viburnum 220	Mound City 270	Thomas Jefferson 245
2005	Liberty 390	Parkway Central 245	Westminster Christian 385	Savannah 280	Richland 295	Barstow 225	Thomas Jefferson 255	St. Joseph Christian 240
2006	Ladue 290	Liberty 150	Savannah 245	Westminster Christian 200	Richland 170	McAuley Catholic 135	Thomas Jefferson 175	Tarkio 160
2007	North Kansas City 370	St. Louis University High 210	John Burroughs 325	Savannah 245	Richland 240	College Heights Christian 150	Thomas Jefferson 210	Bradleyville 175
2008	North Kansas City 450	Kirksville 300	Notre Dame 400	Priory 260	Richland 340	Plattsburg 195	Thomas Jefferson 215	St. Joseph Christian 205
2009	Ladue 400	North Kansas City 235	Priory 225	Notre Dame 160	Richland 280	St. Paul Lutheran 275	Tarkio 255	Leeton 60
2010	Kirksville 340	Ladue 290	Priory 240	Smithville 210	Barstow 170+3OT	St. Paul Lutheran 170+0OT	Heartland 190	St. Joseph Christian 140
2011	Ladue 470	Rock Bridge 350	Savannah 460	Centralia 220	Richland 390	Barstow 300	Heartland 340+3OT	Mound City 340+0OT
2012	Ladue 590	Rock Bridge 230	Savannah 470	Priory 170	Barstow 340	Richland 270	Mound City 530	Columbia Independent 150
2013	Ladue 600	Hickman 260	Priory 400	Hallsville 390	Saxony Lutheran 390	Richland 300	Thomas Jefferson 360	Pilot Grove 240
2014	Ladue 560	Hickman 240	Hallsville 370+3OT	Savannah 370+1OT	Richland 480	Saxony Lutheran 290	Thomas Jefferson 380+3OT	Pilot Grove 380+0OT
2015	Clayton 380	St. Joseph Central 340	Hallsville 380	Savannah 310	Saxony Lutheran 350	Richland 330	Tuscumbia 320	Thomas Jefferson 300
2016	Hickman 430	Ladue 310	Orchard Farm 350	Priory 330	Calvary Lutheran 370	Louisiana 280	Thomas Jefferson 410	Columbia Independent 330
2017	Washington 490	Ladue 360	Savannah 450	Orchard Farm 390	Louisiana 390	Calvary Lutheran 320	Thomas Jefferson 430	Lakeland 240
2018	Ladue 400	St. Joseph Central 330	Hallsville 390	Priory 340	Louisiana 490	College Heights Christian 260	Lakeland 340	Thomas Jefferson 320

Championship Game Statistics

900 points are possible in a MSHSAA format game (50 tossups worth 10 points each and 400 bonus points). If a game is tied after regulation, overtime consists of reading tossups until one team has answered three correctly.

Statistic	Class 4	Class 3	Class 2	Class 1
Highest score, champion	600 2013 Ladue	470 2012 Savannah	490 2018 Louisiana	530 2012 Mound City
Highest score, second place team	380 2003 Parkway Central	390 2013 Hallsville; 2017 Orchard Farm	330 2015 Richland	380 (forcing OT) 2014 Pilot Grove
Highest combined score	860 2013: Ladue 600, Hickman 260	840 2017: Savannah 450, Orchard Farm 390	770 2014: Richland 480, Saxony Lutheran 290	760 2014: Thomas Jefferson 380, Pilot Grove 380 (OT)
Lowest combined score	440 2006: Ladue 290, Liberty 150	385 2009: Priory 240, Smithville 210	305 2006: Richland 170, McAuley Catholic 135	315 2009: Tarkio 255, Leeton 60
Smallest margin	30 points 2003: Liberty 410, Parkway Central 380	3-1 in overtime 2014: Hallsville 370, Savannah 370	3-0 in overtime 2010: Barstow 170, St. Paul Lutheran 170	3-0 in overtime 2011: Heartland 340, Mound City 340; 2014: Thomas Jefferson 380, Pilot Grove 380
Largest margin	360 1998: North Kansas City 495, North County 135; 2012: Ladue 590, Rock Bridge 230	300 2012: Savannah 470, Priory 170	250 1999: Richland 420, Elsberry 170	380 2012: Mound City 530, Columbia Independent 150

The lowest combined scores occurred in years in which poorly written and excessively difficult questions were used, lowering scores across the board. A notoriously difficult Bryce Avery set was used in 2006, and Questions Galore wrote the questions in 2009.

Top Individuals

This table lists the individual with the highest average points per game through 5 rounds in each class in each year. Bold averages indicate the highest average in all classes that year. An asterisk indicates a different player had a higher average but did not advance to the playoffs, or a different player had a higher number of total tossups due to the listed player having a bye due to forfeit; see notes below the table for details.

Unknown top scorers answered fewer than 70 tossups correctly.

Year	Class 4	Class 3	Class 2	Class 1
1996	unknown	unknown	unknown	unknown
1997	Mike Wehrman, North Kansas City 26.6 (133/5)	unknown	unknown	unknown
1998	Andy Wehrman, North Kansas City 18.0 (90/5)	unknown	unknown	Joshlin Yoder, North Shelby 11.0 (55/5)
1999	Andy Wehrman, North Kansas City 18.4 (92/5)	unknown	unknown	unknown
2000	Adam Hill, Nixa 18.2 (91/5)	Sean Phillips, Boonville 19.8 (99/5)	Jason Mueller, Lincoln 18.6 (93/5)	Kevin Moore, Mound City & Jim Driscoll, Koshkonong 11.0 (55/5)
2001	Adam Hill, Nixa 22.2 (111/5)	Greg Martin, Savannah 15.8 (79/5)	Jason Mueller, Lincoln 19.0 (95/5)	Jim Driscoll, Koshkonong 14.0 (70/5)
2002	Chris Ottolino, Parkway Central 11.8 (59/5)	Melissa McCush, Savannah 23.4 (117/5)	Cliff Brown, Glasgow 14.4 (72/5)	Rebecca Porte, Thomas Jefferson 9.0 (45/5)
2003	Chris Ottolino, Parkway Central 22.2 (111/5)	Justin Hofstetter, Lexington 15.4 (77/5)	Derik Moore, Bernie 10.6 (53/5)	James Black, Galena 13.6 (68/5)
2004	Jimmy Li, Parkway Central 15.2 (76/5)	Kim Kerr, Savannah 13.6 (68/5)	Matt Chadbourne, Viburnum 13.4 (67/5)	Travis Eakin, Bell City 13.5 (54/4)*
2005	Jimmy Li, Parkway Central 20.2 (101/5)	Andrew Hoekzema, Westminster Christian 12.8 (64/5)	Josh Chittum, South Shelby 10.2 (51/5)	Travis Eakin, Bell City 17.8 (89/5)
2006	Jason Wu, Ladue 13.8 (69/5)	Andrew Hoekzema, Westminster Christian 14.2 (71/5)	Sam Hooker, Richland & Cody Couch, Knox County 8.4 (42/5)	Nate Kinast, Thomas Jefferson 10.6 (53/5)
2007	Charlie Dees, North Kansas City 18.0 (90/5)	Cory Honer, Richland 15.4 (77/5)	Woody Smelser, New Madrid County Central 10.8 (54/5)	Nate Kinast, Thomas Jefferson 13.6 (68/5)
2008	Charlie Dees, North Kansas City 19.4 (97/5)	Terin Budine, Savannah 19.0 (95/5)	Logan Goad, Richland 12.2 (61/5)	Nate Schuster, Pilot Grove 12.8 (64/5)
2009	Julia Price, Fort Zumwalt West 9.8 (49/5)	Taylor Smith, Hallsville 13.6 (68/5)	Ben Simpson, Belle 9.2 (46/5)*	Kevin Lang, Tarkio 15.4 (77/5)
2010	Ravi Fernando, Kirksville 14.0 (70/5)	Matt Menendez, Priory 8.8 (44/5)	Ian Jessee, Plattsburg 7.4 (37/5)	Tim Schmitz, St. Joseph Christian 8.8 (44/5)*
2011	Max Schindler, Ladue 27.0 (135/5)	Aaron Seider, Centralia 14.6 (73/5)	Ian Jessee, Plattsburg 14.4 (72/5)	Antonio Perilli, Heartland & Paul Grant, Mound City 15.4 (77/5)*
2012	Max Schindler, Ladue 26.4 (132/5)	Austin Kerns, Savannah 17.2 (86/5)	Aidan Coyle, Barstow 13.6 (68/5)*	Paul Grant, Mound City 25.4 (127/5)
2013	Max Schindler, Ladue 26.4 (132/5)	Alexander Noddings, Priory 13.0 (65/5)	Luke Voyles, Twin Rivers 21.0 (105/5)	Luke Schuster, Pilot Grove 17.8 (89/5)
2014	Ben Zhang, Ladue 19.6 (98/5)	Jared Lockwood, Hallsville 18.0 (90/5)	Luke Voyles, Twin Rivers 22.2 (111/5)	Luke Schuster, Pilot Grove 20.6 (103/5)*
2015	Omkar Venkatesh, Clayton 14.4 (72/5)	Jared Lockwood, Hallsville 17.6 (88/5)	Josh Vogel, Saxony Lutheran 17.6 (88/5)	Ross Sparrow, Tuscumbia 20.6 (103/5)
2016	William Gentry, St. Joseph Central 18.2 (91/5)	Tyler Woosencraft, Orchard Farm 11.2 (56/5)*	Michael Powers, Louisiana 18.0 (90/5)	Will Devoy, Columbia Independent 16.0 (80/5)
2017	William Gentry, St. Joseph Central 16.8 (84/5)	Samuel Lockwood, Hallsville 17.6 (88/5)*	Michael Powers, Louisiana 27.6 (138/5)	Gage Smith, Wellsville 18.4 (92/5)
2018	William Gentry, St. Joseph Central 18.4 (92/5)	Samuel Lockwood, Hallsville 27.2 (136/5)	Michael Powers, Louisiana 31.0 (155/5)	Savannah Dillard, Thomas Jefferson 19.2 (96/5)

Notes

• In Class 1 in 2004, Bell City only played 4 games due to a district winner declining to attend the tournament. Alex Moore from Mound City had 58 total tossups over 5 games.
• In Class 2 in 2009, John Prewitt from Thayer answered 34 tossups in the three preliminary rounds (11.33 per game) but did not advance to the playoffs.
• In Class 1 in 2010, Grant Monnig of Glasgow had 31 tossups and Matthew Willia of King City had 30 tossups in the three preliminary rounds, but their teams did not advance to the playoffs.
• The message board post with the 2011 All-State teams indicated 17.8 tossups per game but only 77 total tossups for the Class 1 leaders, so it is not known if 77 or 89 tossups is correct.
• In Class 2 in 2012, Luke Voyles of Twin Rivers had 45 tossups in the three preliminary rounds (15.0 per game) but did not advance to the playoffs.
• In Class 3 in 2016, Ross Simmons of Lafayette County had 46 tossups in the three preliminary rounds (15.33 per game) but did not advance to the playoffs.
• In Class 3 in 2017, Ross Simmons of Lafayette County had 69 tossups in the three preliminary rounds (23 per game) but did not advance to the playoffs. This set a record for most tossups by a player who only played the three preliminary rounds, and was the second highest number of total tossups answered correctly by an individual in Class 3 that year.