St. Charles Community College
| St. Charles Community College | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: St. Charles, MO | |
| Current President or Coach | Charles Hang |
| National championships | 2010 CCCT |
| NAQT Page | link |
St. Charles Community College (or SCC) is a Community College located in St. Charles, MO outside of St. Louis. The SCC team was founded in the Spring of 2010 by Washington University in St. Louis player Charles Hang, who led the team to victory at the 2010 CCCT
Team History
Founding
The St. Charles Community College Quiz Bowl team was founded in late Fall 2009 by Charles Hang, an alumnus of nearby Francis Howell Central high school who had been dual enrolled at the Community College for several years. At the time, Hang was a player for Washington University in St. Louis, though he had been attending SCC for several years. Having noticed the absence of a Community College circuit in Missouri (with the exception of Mineral Area College), Hang decided to establish a team at SCC, which had the advantage of drawing from an area rich in Quiz Bowl teams, including a number of players who were personal acquaintances of Hang.
As a result, the nucleus of the SCC team which came together in the 2009-2010 season was made up of alumni from Francis Howell Central High School, including former FHC players Jeremy Roznowski and Samantha Britton. However, the relatively slow pace with which the team came together meant that by the beginning of January, with mere weeks to go before the 2010 CCSCT, the team still had not met for practices, nor had it been entirely established as an official school sponsored club. Nevertheless, having already realized that under NAQT rules, he would be eligible to play for SCC, Charles Hang led the team to the 2010 CCSCT, the nearest of which was the Kansas sectional held at Cloud County Community College.
CCSCT
A total of two St. Charles Community College teams attended the 2010 Kansas CCSCT, the SCC A team consisting of Jeremy Roznowski and total novice Mike Janoski, as well as SCC B, which consisted of Charles Hang playing solo. The decision to split the team in two was made by Hang, who not only hoped that would St. Charles Community College qualify two teams for the 2010 CCCT, but also realized that his teammates would be able to answer more questions without him shadow effect them.
The result of the tournament fulfilled one of Hang's plans, for though the SCC A team only went 4-7 at the tournament, coming in 9th of 12 teams, Janoski was a tournament high scorer, coming in sixth overall with 32.31 PP20TH, while Roznowski put up a reasonable 14.85 PP20TH. [1]The SCC B team took first by going 12-0, earning the team a bid for the 2010 CCCT. [[2]]
CCCT
After the team's victory at the Kansas CCSCT, the team finally came together organizationally. Though the team remained unofficial, being funded entirely by Charles Hang, a core of several players nevertheless practiced in anticipation of the 2010 CCCT.
Even while it was being formal established, the St. Charles Community College team attended the 2010 CCCT held at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida. The team went 11-1 at the tournament, suffering a preliminary defeat against Valencia Community College before winning a series of close games against Northeast Alabama, Seminole, Chipola, and Snead State in order to face Northeast Alabama in a one game final which SCC won 410-225. In doing so, St. Charles Community College captured the 2010 CCCT championship title as well as a bid to attend the 2010 ICT in Division II. SCC captain Charles Hang was also the tournament top individual scorer. [3][4]
Controversy
The decision of Charles Hang to play for St. Charles Community College despite being a student at Washington University in St. Louis and having played for WUSTL in the fall of 2009 was viewed negatively by much of the Quiz Bowl community. A discussion thread was created on the Quizbowl Resource Center forums after SCC's victory at the Kansas CCSCT, where a number of individuals criticized Hang's actions as being in violation of the intent of creating separate tournaments for Community Colleges. [5]
In addition, upon being informed of the thread by Charles Hang several weeks after active discussion had ceased, SCC team member Jeremy Roznowski chose to post a highly inflammatory attack on those who had criticized Hang for his actions. This post, made partially out of anger at what he saw as a collective contempt for Community Colleges as well as in a somewhat misguided attempt to defend his friend and teammate, earned Roznowski a swift ban as well as earning the thread a trip to the Forbidden Zone.
Members
Freshmen: Charles Hang, Jeremy Roznowski, Mike Janoski, Jared Lund, Samantha Britton