Fourteen teams of PVAMU students gathered in the MSC auditorium last Wednesday for the Honda Campus All-Stars Challenge, to decide who would defend last year’s Quiz Bowl team’s title in April.
HCASC, an academic knowledge and quiz bowl, is a competition among historically black colleges and universities nationwide.
To qualify for the national level, there must be a campus tournament consisting of at least eight teams of four students.
Career Services placement coordinator Herbert Thomas serves as the adviser. He said, “PV students are very intelligent. The enthusiasm and competitiveness from students is great.”
Winners are awarded monetary
prizes-$100 for third place, $200 for second, and $300 for first.
This incentive drew the interest of several students. Sophomore social work major Alexandria DeMery said, “I think it was a good exercise for the brain.”
The first elimination round was on day one of the tournament. Two teams competed against each other, and the winning team moved to the next round held on day two.
The winning freshman team from the University College tournament also participated in the campus tournament.
Day two was a bracket-style elimination process. The final two teams were the Thundercats and Building 45.
They played the best two out of three. The Thundercats won both rounds. First and second place winners received trophies, and all participants from both days received
T-shirts.
Jonathan Gholston of the Thundercats said, “As a returning member, I just wanted to see more people involved this year. We had a bunch of great teams so I’m excited. What I hope for this year is to help lead my team to another national championship.”
Thomas is currently trying to rebuild a team to replace those who have graduated. HCASC is open to all students.
The national tournament will be held in Orlando, Fla. from April 9-12, 2011. Thomas continues his search for students with in-depth knowledge and who are capable of working well as a team. “We are trying to build a legacy here,” he said.