Honaker
| Honaker | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location: Honaker, VA | |
| Coaches | Valerie Sykes (2021-Present)
Charlie Perkins (Head Coach: 2016-2021) (Asst. Coach: 2021-Present) Caleb Perkins (Asst. Coach: 2018-2019) Danielle Kinder (2015) Taylor Richardson (Asst. Coach: 2014) 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 | 343 Students (8-12) |
| NAQT Page | link |
Honaker is a very small school in the coalfields of far southwestern Virginia. They are known as the most decorated & storied Academic Team in the region, winning 12 VHSL Region D championships as well as 5 Region 1A West/Super Region 1CD championships, whilst also advancing to the VHSL Scholastic Bowl state tournament 19 times in the format's 24 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 | |
| 2021 | 15-3 | 2-1 | 6-0; 1st | 3-0; 1st | 3-0; 1st | 1-2; 3rd | 246.7 | ||
| Totals | 545-110 | 186-13 | 45-3 | 68-5 | 80-23 (Region & Super R.) | 28-31 |
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 | C 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 | 10-0, 1st place | 3-7, 9th place | |
| Spring 2020 | Tornado Invitational III | 9-0, 1st place | 3-6, 8th place | |
| Spring 2021 | NCIS X | 5-3, 4th place | ||
| Fall 2021 | Cave Spring Invitational XVI | 5-5, 10th place | 5-5, 7th place | 4-6, 11th place |
| Total Tournaments Played: 53 | A Team All Time Record: 310-157 (on record) | |||
| First Place Finishes: 9 | Second Place Finishes: 4 (1 from B Team) | Top 5s: 38 (1 from B Team; 72.5%) |
Typical "A" Lineup
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 2021 season) is Honaker's 15-year undefeated streak at the district/conference tournament in order to qualify for Regionals. Honaker has never failed to qualify for a VHSL regional tournament 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 their first 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. Cook would later opt to forego his 2020 Senior season of Scholastic Bowl after leading Honaker to an undefeated 2019 VHSL season. Despite this, the 2020 Honaker team led the 2020 Class 1 VHSL State Tournament in total points scored despite a 1-2 win-loss record and also defeated the eventual 2020 State Champions, the George Wythe Maroons, preventing the Maroons from accomplishing an undefeated VHSL season themselves.
- 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.
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