Loyola Academy
| Loyola Academy Ramblers | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Wilmette, Illinois | |
| Coaches | David Riley |
| State Championships | 2004 Iowa NAQT |
| Program Status | Unknown |
| School Size | Unknown |
| NAQT Page | link |
Loyola Academy is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic, Jesuit high school located in Wilmette, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago. It competes in Class AA, the "large school" division, of the Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) State Championship Series. The school does not have a conference affiliation. The current coach of the Ramblers is David Riley.
History
Tournament Hosting
For many years, Loyola Academy was one of the centers for Midwestern quizbowl, with sometimes as many as four major tournaments being held there each year. Over time, their varsity and frosh-soph tournaments were dropped.
One tournament that has stayed in Wilmette is the Ultima tournament. The tournament was conceived by Coach Riley as an attempt to get a different format into Illinois, and, ostensibly, to have an early indicator for potential Team Illinois candidates, given that he was the team's head coach. Invitation to the tournament was exclusive. Riley used a self-developed points system to rank programs in the State, based on their varsity and frosh-soph performance at tournaments. Thus teams were invited based on how well they performed the previous year.
The format was similar to that of the Panasonic Academic Challenge, and typically involved anywhere between 9 and 15 teams, competing three at a time. Currently, it is held to the standards of good quiz bowl, and the 2009 version was held on Sandy Huang's DAFT set.
In 2006, a new frosh-soph tournament was reborn under the direction of then-freshman/sophomore coach Matt Laird, the Davey and Goliath Throwdown. Initially using questions provided by Aegis Questions, the tournament ranks among the higher quality pyramidal frosh/soph tournaments offered in the state each year. In 2009, the tournament used tossups from an IS-A set with bonuses house-written mainly by Jack Glerum, while the 2010 version used just an IS-A set.
Rivalry Awards
Loyola competes for The Bloodstone Cup in an annual competition against Maine South. The annual competition was born from the back-to-back Regional upsets that the teams visited on each other. The award is a crystal goblet filled with hand-tumbled bloodstones, and kept in a wooden presentation box. The award was donated by former F/S coach Matt Laird. Through three competitions, Loyola leads the overall series 2-1.
Noted Team Accomplishments
- IHSA Regional Titles (7): 1999, 2001-03, 2005, 2008-09
- IHSA Sectional Titles (3): 1996, 2008-09
- IHSA State: 4th place, 2009
- Iowa NAQT State Champions: 2004
IHSSBCA Individual Awards
The following were honored by the Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches Association (IHSSBCA) for outstanding play through their All-Sectional/All-State Program. Each sectional comprises roughly 24 geographically concentrated teams, and thus roughly 125 starting players. Through the 2006-07 season, the top ten players were recognized in each sectional,(starting with 2007-08, the number was raised to 15) with teams restricted to no more than two nominations (three nominations starting in 2007-08). There are twenty All-State awards given each year (10 First Team, 10 Second Team) in each of Illinois' two classes.
All-Sectional Honorees
- 2001-02: Megan Hixson
- 2005-06: Katie Kragh, Matt McKenna
- 2007-08: Joe Ahmad, Jack Glerum, Mike Verity
- 2008-09: Joe Ahmad, Jack Glerum
All-State Honorees
- 2005-06: Matt McKenna (1st team)
- 2007-08: Joe Ahmad (2nd team)
- 2008-09: Joe Ahmad (1st team), Jack Glerum (2nd team)
Playing for Team Illinois
- Stephen Walker (2000)
- Andy Mathews (2004)
- Matt McKenna (2006)
- Mike Verity (2008)
Current Roster
- Christian Kreb (Captain)
- Will Abraham
- Marcel Youkhana
- Nolan Winkler
- Lauren Capra
- Raman Michaels
- Paul Juska
- Paddy Rahlfs
Notable Alumni
- Matt McKenna
- Mike Verity
- Tim Durso
- Joe Ahmad
- Jack Glerum