Saturday, March 19, 2005
TJ Runner-ups: L-R David Herrick, Tournament Director,
Joel Keralis,
Shane Lowe, Andrew Keralis Kyle Lococo, Coach Tom Brazee
Tournament Overview
Council Bluffs, IA - March 19, 2005 -- The Norris Titan Quizbowl team continue to post impressive results in 2005, bringing home the runner-up trophy in the 18-team Thomas Jefferson Invitational tournament. The Titans lost to the Blair Bears 41-33 in the championship match while Lincoln Northeast finished third and Creighton Prep fourth. The Titans took two teams to Council Bluffs, with the A team of Joel Keralis, Shane Lowe, Andrew Keralis and Kyle Lococo finishing second and the B team of Evan Egger, Alex Baruth, Andrea Wiggins and Leah Keralis finishing in the top eight.
Norris A Team
The Norris A team opened the day by going 3-0 in the morning qualification rounds and finishing as the 3rd seed for the afternoon tournament. Norris A defeated Bellevue East A, Blair A (the eventual champions) and Lincoln Northeast B in their three matches. In the tournament play, the A team defeated Bellevue East A again 45-12, followed by host Thomas Jefferson 45-20, Norris B 27-26 and Creighton Prep B 41-16 before losing to Blair 41-33 in the finals. Ironically, the Norris A v. Norris B match was extremely close and was only decided after a protest was withdrawn.
Norris B Team
The Norris B team began the day with a forfeit win over Creighton Prep A, who withdrew because of conflicts and then defeated Bellevue East B in overtime 37-36 before losing to Lincoln Northeast A 45-22. Going into the afternoon tournament as the eighth seed, Norris B defeated Norfolk A before losing to the Norris A team.
This marks the fourth trophy in a terrific year for the Norris team, adding to their championships at Bellevue University and Creighton Prep and their runner-up finish at the Elkhorn Invitational.