MONTPELIER — The team from Burlington High School is the state high school academic champion after winning the Vermont-NEA Scholars’ Bowl at the State House on Saturday, March 30th.

BHS defeated Champlain Valley Union High School in the championship
match, 450-390, after building a big lead in the first of three rounds of competition and holding off a couple of late CVU comebacks. The match capped an exciting day of competition that featured teams from 11 schools around the state.

Burlington advanced to the finals by nipping defending champion Essex 350-315 in the quarterfinals and surging past South Burlington, 400-300, in the semifinals.

The competing team for Burlington included seniors Zoe Koeninger, Anna Halladay, Vilena Lee and Simon Kissam, juniors Isidora Bailly-Hall and Isabella Farkas, and sophomore Wyatt Harte. The team is coached by Kevin Commo.

Scholars’ Bowl is a question-and-answer quiz competition, similar to Jeopardy! but featuring teams of high school students and with a
heavier focus on the academic curriculum. Burlington has won the
tournament six times, with the most recent title coming in 2016.

CVU earned its berth in the last round with a 460-340 semifinal win
over Middlebury Union High School, ending a run that saw the Tigers
take home the Medlar Cup, the tournament’s second-chance competition, for the second year in a row. Middlebury defeated St. Johnsbury and Essex in the Medlar Cup and then knocked off Hanover in the quarterfinals before its loss to CVU.

All of Saturday’s scores:

Medlar Cup First Round
Burr and Burton 365, Cabot 270
St. Johnsbury 375, Woodstock 255
Essex 370, Windsor 170

Medlar Cup Semifinals
Essex 460, Burr and Burton 255
Middlebury 515, St. Johnsbury 295

Medlar Cup Final
Middlebury 455, Essex 295

Overall Quarterfinals
Middlebury 475, Hanover 345
Burlington 350, Essex 315

Overall Semifinals
Burlington 400, South Burlington 300
CVU 460, Middlebury 340

State Championship
Burlington 450, CVU 390