For years, Meridian Junior High struggled to field a Scholar Bowl team, scraping by with just four or five members. This year, everything changed. Under the leadership of sponsors Mike Waters and Heidi Ruddick, an impressive 21 students signed up to compete, transforming the program into a vibrant academic powerhouse.

"We built our team," explains Ruddick, who teaches junior high math. "We did get some practices in. We actually won a match, which is a big deal."

The victory was especially significant because every student on the team was new to Scholar Bowl. They had never witnessed a match before their first competition, making their journey even more remarkable.

"The first few matches were very intimidating," Ruddick recalls. "We had never done it. We'd never been to another school where they were doing this. And all the other schools have."

The team's introduction to Scholar Bowl grew from an unexpected source: Ruddick's "Trivia Tuesday" tradition in math class. Each Tuesday, she starts class with five to ten minutes of random trivia questions spanning geography, history, math, and "silly stuff."

Eighth-grader Christopher Austin particularly stood out. "I'm great at geography. I know all my landmarks and stuff," he shares. When Ruddick discovered his talent during Trivia Tuesday, she recruited him immediately. "I was like, you need to be on Scholar Bowl," she remembers.

The team quickly learned that Scholar Bowl covers diverse subjects: geography, math, literature, grammar, history, sports, and what team member KeMaiah Maborn-Jones calls "random knowledge." Questions about Eli Whitney appeared at nearly every match, teaching students that some topics cycle back in different forms.

While 21 students comprised the full team, only 14 could attend matches—enough for junior varsity, varsity, and two substitutes. Students needed to maintain good grades and behavior to participate, with eighth graders limited to varsity play while sixth graders could compete at either level.

The season brought memorable experiences, including visiting schools and venues that surprised the students. Surprisingly, one tournament was held in a church in Marion with restaurants on their campus.

Sixth-grader Amer Abukhdair appreciated meeting new people at each school. "Every school I go to, I like to meet new people," he says. His favorite moment? "When there's a question that I know, most of the time I press the buzzer and then I answer it correctly."

The team's confidence grew throughout the season, culminating in their tournament performance where they came close to winning additional matches. "There was some time where I was like, oh my goodness, we might win this," Ruddick remembers. "It was so exciting."

Haven Anderson, an eighth grader, sees long-term benefits: "It will look good on my resume as I get older. They'll see that, oh, she knows her stuff."

Jones found the experience expanded her knowledge: "Before I started, I feel like I had basic knowledge, but as soon as I started Scholar Bowl, I was like, making connections: oh, this is that, and that is this. Learning a whole bunch of new things was pretty fun."

The team discovered valuable life lessons along the way. Zion Green appreciated "working as a team, helping each other answer questions." Christopher Austin gained "leadership skills and learning to work together more." Abukhdair learned "to never be too negative to your opponents because they might be smarter than you."

Waters, a High School special education teacher who has sponsored Scholar Bowl for three years, praised Ruddick's involvement: "Having a Junior High teacher with me has been very helpful because she has the students in her classes." Both sponsors marveled at the students' growth. "The growth that they had over this season was amazing," Waters notes.

Perhaps most importantly, the experience validated academic achievement in a school culture often focused on athletics. "There's kind of a thing with being a smarter kid," Ruddick observes. "As the season went on, I could tell they kind of liked, 'Oh, we're one of the smart kids. It's okay to be a smart kid.'"

Jones puts it perfectly for prospective members: "If you're a smart kid and you want to have fun while being smart, you should do Scholar Bowl. And if you're a competitive person, you should really do Scholar Bowl."

With team shirts ordered, a pizza party planned, and newfound confidence, Meridian's Junior High Scholar Bowl team will celebrate their experiences and look forward to next year.