On Friday, Apr. 14 the Knowledge Bowl team placed first at state and became state champions for the first time in the school’s history. The team “San De Boeuf” scored a final tally of 157.5 points to win at state. Second place was Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose scored 125.5 showing that the OHS team blew the competition away. The members of the team are Aiden Engel, David Smith, Gavin Caron, Henry Bon, and Lileigh Nyguen. 

Knowledge Bowl is an academic competition where teams compete against each other to be the first to answer the question correctly. Knowledge Bowl tests students’ recall abilities, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. As there is a series of competitions in various academic subjects. 

This Knowledge Bowl team has been having great success this year. They have been consistently placing first against other teams throughout the season. 

Coach Daniel Saehler said, “They have been dominating against other teams this season. Not only that but they have set some highscores, but the state score has been the highest it has ever been in the last 40 years.”

This team has worked hard ever since they joined and formed the team. Since this was their fourth year as a team, they were able to thrive this year as they have had the time with each other, which allowed them to know each other’s strong suits and have a bond with each and every member. 

As they made their journey to state, they also continuously made great memories along the way. Senior Aiden Engel said, “Winning state just means having a fun weekend with your friends and enjoying yourself. It’s not as much about winning as it is just having a good time, which we definitely did and do that.”

This team has come close to winning many times. Saehler said, “Seeing them go out on top and win, as they have come close many times to winning but to see it all come together and pay off was amazing.” 

This team has been together for four years, and three of those years have been spent representing Owatonna at state. The team finished their final year of Knowledge Bowl with a win to close out their senior year.