The Prairie View quiz bowl team finished first at the Honda Campus All Star Challenge (HCASC), bringing home the contest’s first ever National Championship Tournament win for the university.
HCASC is the first academic competition for historically black colleges & universities. HBCUs from all over the country show up to compete for the championship after participating in smaller tournaments throughout the year.
Of the 20 years that Prairie View has competed in this competition, starting in 1990, they have finally claimed the victory that has been long awaited. Senior biology major Cedric Wilson knows a little bit about the joy that comes from a long sought after victory.
“I feel satisfied because this is my fourth and last year and I feel like I completed something that I set out to do so I feel satisfied that I accomplished it,” said Wilson who averaged 66 points per game, placing him among the top ten scorers.
The team consisted of Wilson, who serves as team captain, Edward Hackett senior engineering major who has competed the last two years, Jonathan Gholston who is the student representative and has attended the past three years. Isaac Hoyt, Gabrielle Washington, and Cedra Wilson, all attended for the first time this year and contributed to Prairie View’s big win.
Herbert Thomas, of the Office of Career Services, acted as the sponsor for the quiz bowl team but his duties extended much further than chaperoning. He practiced with the team regularly, drilling them on various topics and keeping them at a level that would lead to success.
“As the coach, I had to tap into each of the students’ qualities and enhance those qualities. We made a commitment to ourselves that we were going to be better than good; we were going to be great. This team victory belongs to everyone who has ever competed in the competition,” said Thomas.
Forty-eight schools took part in the competition and were divided into eight divisions that consisted of six schools each, who competed in a round robin, allowing the top scorers to be revealed.
Each school was eliminated after a loss and the top two schools in each room competed against one another in what is known as “The Sweet 16” playoffs. The winners in each of the teams in the Sweet 16 moved to the stage where they competed again to narrow the teams down to four.
Prairie View competed against Fayetteville State University, winning 255 against their 240.
The final game was against Carolina Central, Mississippi Valley University. The team who would win the best two out of three would leave as champions. Prairie View surpassed the expectations of many, winning two consecutive games and ultimately winning the championship.
“It felt amazing for all our hard work to pay off and be recognized for it. We still have that winner’s high going on, we put everything to the side for Honda and it all worked out in the end,” said Gholston, who along with the others who competed, now knows the taste of sweet victory.