The knowledge bowl season is well underway, and the team already has three meets under their belt. This year the team is under new advisory by Coach Dan Saehler. There are six new students on the Knowledge Bowl team this year, making a total of 13 members. Questions in the knowledge bowl range from history, math, science, politics, pop culture and general trivia. Teams for the knowledge bowl consist of members each possessing their own skills in a topic. Participants say it’s generally difficult to “study” for a round since questions and categories are entirely random. This year, Owatonna has three teams competing at matches. Coach Saehler says, “It’s been really good watching the kids have fun. It’s impressive to see what they know without any assistance.” Coach Saehler is looking forward to seeing where each team will finish within the region. The teams have all been performing well in competitions, especially it’s newest members.

The freshman team has been making quite a stand at competitions. The team consisting entirely of freshmen have been in the top third of all meets so far. Their success has been surprising to even the senior members on the team. Freshman Henry Bon is a key member on the team, who has been scoring some big points. Bon says, “It’s fun getting the right answers. To have a book I read a few years ago finally pay off is really nice.” The atmosphere of the competition is very tense. The first team to buzz in will have first grab at points, so being the first one to the buzzer is important. There are seven senior members that will be leaving the team after this year, so the pressure is on to advance into regionals. 

The next Knowledge Bowl meet will be at Cleveland Public School on Friday, Feb. 14.