St. Joseph Central
| St. Joseph Central Indians | |
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| Location: St. Joseph, MO | |
| Coaches | Jeff Carter |
| State Championships | 2022 MSHSAA Class 6 |
| National Appearances | every HSNCT since 2015 |
| Program Status | Active |
| School Size | 1345[1] |
| NAQT Page | link |
Central High School is a public high school in St. Joseph, Missouri that competes in Class 4 of MSHSAA competition.
Central first advanced to the MSHSAA State Championship in 2014, going 0-3 in the preliminary rounds. The following year, the team finished in second place at State, led by William Gentry, whose 67 tossups throughout the tournament was believed to set a record for most tossups answered correctly at a MSHSAA State tournament by a freshman. Central also attended HSNCT for the first time, finishing 3-7.
With the young team improving dramatically, Central began dominating tournaments in northwest Missouri, including the Kansas City area. Central started to occasionally travel out of the area to face competition in other parts of the state, attending its first NAQT Missouri Qualifier in 2016. Central finished in fourth place at MSHSAA State and barely missed the playoffs at the 2016 HSNCT, losing their final game by 15 points. In 2017, Central debuted in the top 200 of HSQBRank, finished in second place at the NAQT Missouri Qualifier, and placed fourth at MSHSAA State. The team went 7-3 in the preliminary rounds of the 2017 HSNCT to earn their first playoff berth; they ultimately tied for 65th place after dropping both of their playoff games.
In 2018, Central A entered the HSQBRank top 100 and went undefeated in all tournaments they played in northwest Missouri. Their only six losses prior to HSNCT were at the four tournaments they attended out of the area - to Helias in their first place finish at the MOQBA Fall Championship; to Strake Jesuit and Westminster in their sixth place finish at WUHSAC XX, which featured six other top 100 teams; twice to Ladue to finish second at the NAQT Missouri Qualifier; and to Ladue in the Class 4 championship game of MSHSAA State. Central B also performed very well at area tournaments, including a couple of second place finishes behind the A team.
Despite the loss of key players, Central remained a quality team in 2019. Notable events included winning the 2019 MOQBA Fall Championship as well as placing second at WUHSAC XXI in a 3 game final against Ladue. Central placed second at the MSHSAA State behind Ladue and placed 31st at the 2019 HSNCT after going 7-3 in the preliminary rounds and winning two tight games in the losers bracket over Darien and three time SSNCT Champion Glasgow.
Tournament Hosting
Central hosted their first tournament on January 13, 2018, mirroring WHAQ with the assistance of the Missouri Quizbowl Alliance.
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- ↑ 2023-24 MSHSAA enrollment (grades 9-11 in March 2023), from https://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/SchoolEnrollments.aspx