Quiz bowl is sort of like "Jeopardy!" or "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" except schools compete in a four-on-four format. You are only allowed to play if you're a virgin. I competed on an academic quiz team for Brookwood High School in suburban Atlanta. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by talented teammates and skilled coaches. We competed on a national level, succeeding in almost any tournament we attended. I worked very hard and several of my teammates did as well. I am very proud to say that I am the only person who played on BOTH of Brookwood's first two teams (1994 and 1995) to make it to the Final Four of the most respected national tournament at that time (it is currently nonexistent). When I graduated in 1995, 1200 quiz bowl teams existed in America. I am so proud of my membership of five national semifinalist teams, three appearances in the national title match, and one national championship! My coach was the legendary J.R.Barry, winner of several national titles and many state titles as well.

On a side note, I have passed the Jeopardy test every year since 2005 and I had a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire audition in New York in 2009. I can only hope that I receive a call to go to Los Angeles or to New York!

Freshman (with Chris Lutz, Heather Harvey, and Curt Cain)
*Member of 1992 Junior Varsity Georgia Runner-Up Team

Sophomore (with John Marler, Dave Holcombe, Heather Harvey, Chris Lutz, Byron Lutz, Jim Dau, and Jeremy Nieminen)
*Captain of 1993 Junior Varsity Georgia Runner-Up Team
*Member of 1993 Varsity Georgia Runner-Up Team
*Member of 1993 Tournament of Champions National Sweet Sixteen Team--Lake Forest, Illinois

Junior (with Chris Lutz, Heather Harvey, and Jason Jenkins)
*Member of 1994 Varsity Georgia State Champion Team
*Member of 1994 Tournament of Champions National Runner-Up Team--Lake Forest, Illinois
*Member of 1994 Beta Club National Semifinalist--Nashville, Tennessee
*Member of 1994 Tournament of the Allstars National Finalist Team---Orlando, Florida
*Member of 1994 Georgia All-Star Team

Senior (with Rob Snyder, James Alexander, Adam Brown, and Mary Jane Holcombe)
*Captain of 1995 Gwinnett County Champion Team
*Captain of 1995 Varsity Georgia State Runner-Up Team
*Captain of 1995 Tournament of Champions National Semifinalist Team--Lake Forest, Illinois
*Captain of 1995 National Beta Club Convention NATIONAL CHAMPION Team--Orlando, Florida
*Member of 1995 Georgia All-Stars
*Member of Brookwood High-Q team (aired on October 29, 1994 on WSB-TV in Atlanta)
*Sole Inductee of Class of 1995, Brookwood High School Academic Team Hall of Fame

It is difficult to compare people from one senior class to another. However, I can make an attempt at the five best players I ever saw in Brookwood history (I saw the classes of 1993-96 alot, and 92, 97, and 98 a little) for each subject. I even made a list for trash questions (movies, sports, pop music, and pop culture). I flipped through yearbooks and I promised myself to make the list objectively, knowing my own limitations and gifts. Making the list made me a little nostalgic for the good ole days of road trips (Wendy's and Ramada every Friday night!) and throwing J.R. Barry into the Atlantic Ocean!

Science: Jason Jenkins, Adam Brown, Dave Holcombe, Byron Lutz, Griffin Smith

Social Studies: Rob Snyder, James Alexander, Chris Lutz, John Marler, Heather Harvey

Literature: Heather Harvey, Rob Snyder, John Marler, Chris Lutz, Mary Jane Holcombe

Art: Chris Lutz, John Marler, Rob Snyder, James Alexander, Adam Brown

Music: Heather Harvey, Byron Lutz, Amanda Buxton, Adam Brown, Mary Jane Holcombe

Math: Jason Jenkins, Adam Brown, Griffin Smith, Dave Holcombe, John Marler

Trash: Jim Dau, Rob Snyder, James Alexander, John Marler, Chris Lutz

Overall: Rob Snyder, Heather Harvey, Chris Lutz, James Alexander, John Marler