1987 Walnut Ridge
Won the NAC. Coached by Barbara Kalman (Librarian), members were Susan Wright (Sophomore), Garrett Schwartz (Sophomore), Mu Chun Yin (Junior), and Michael Dake (Senior, Captain).
The 1987 Walnut Ridge team lost its initial competition on WOSU's "In the Know" television show against Granville. Only after this disappointing start did the Columbus Public Schools (now "Columbus City Schools") announce the formation of the Columbus Academic League, a venture sponsored by Questions Unlimited. The Columbus Academic League consisted of all 16 of Columbus Public Schools' high schools. It held a regular season of head-to-head contests between schools leading to playoffs and a championship round, all followed by a round-robin tournament. The winner of the regular season championship would play the winner of the post-season tournament to claim Columbus Public Schools' berth at the NAC. Walnut Ridge won both the regular season and the post-season tournament, rendering the play-off game unnecessary.
Walnut Ridge went undefeated at the NAC, culminating in a final match against Walt Whitman, a prior NAC winner. Despite its underdog status as a team in its first year of play and having two sophomores on the team, the Walnut Ridge team did not receive any special attention from the tournament staff, to include the normal repeated comments about its underdog status common to the moderator's style. Team Captain Michael Dake was the only senior on the team.
As of 2022, Walnut Ridge has not returned to the NAC, and the Columbus Academic League has ceased operation.
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