Teams take on nation

Academic team members watch 'Jeopardy!,' 'Academic Challenge' and the History and Discovery channels.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Going to the High School National Academic Challenge in Chicago will be an adventure, says Greg Knight of the Boardman High School Academic Challenge team.
"It will be a great opportunity to go up to the next level" of competition, said Bob Parise, a member of the Lowellville High School Academic Challenge team and most valuable player of the 2007 Mahoning County Academic Challenge tournament.
Knight and Parise and their respective teammates were invited to compete May 25-27 at the nationals because of their success locally.
This year, Boardman won the WYTV Academic Challenge title and the Mahoning County Quiz Bowl league's Western Division and overall titles.
Lowellville placed second in the Eastern Division of the league, behind Springfield Local High School, and split dual matches with Springfield, Poland and Boardman.
Boardman and Lowellville compete head-to-head during the regular county Quiz Bowl season. At nationals, however, Boardman will compete in the big-school division and Lowellville in the small-school division.
To prepare themselves for competition, academic team members say they watch "Jeopardy!," Academic Challenge" and the History and Discovery channels. The spend a lot of time with an Internet dictionary and read voraciously.
Typical teens
But not all members of the Academic Challenge teams are straight-A students, nor do they bury themselves in books to the exclusion of all else, they say.
Rather, they are well-rounded high school students who play football and run track, who are members of the band, the drama club and National Honor Society, get elected class president, and like today's teen music and clothes.
What sets them apart from many other students is that they are inquisitive, insatiable learners who can recall information quickly under pressure, say their coaches, Jeff Boyll of Boardman and Mandy Pachner of Lowellville.
"These five students have been wonderful to work with and are self-driven in their desire to learn, compete and win. They are working harder than ever to make the school proud of them while we are in Chicago," said Pachner, who teaches eighth-grade science and chemistry and anatomy/physiology at the high school.
"The students deserve all the credit. I have a hands-off coaching philosophy that works well with them. They are all intelligent, driven to succeed, and a pleasure to be associated with," said Boyll, who has been at Boardman High School for two years, where he teaches Latin. "Going to Chicago still seems incredible."
At the same time, they just like being around other similar people and learning from them.
"I like to win, but it's more kind of a test of myself ... of my knowledge," said Knight, captain of Boardman's junior varsity team.
Just as football players watch game films looking for tendencies of their opponents, Boardman's Mike Disotell, 2007 Mahoning County Academic Challenge League Player of the Year, watches old "Academic Challenge" TV shows looking for questions that repeat.
Team members
"Going to Chicago is going to be great, no matter how we do. It's fun being around so many smart people," said Greg Haren, a three-year member of Lowellville's Academic Challenge and football teams.
The other members of Lowellville's varsity team are John Wellendorf, Nick Dubos and Veronica Cosby.
Wellendorf, who says his plans include becoming president of the United States, likes Academic Challenge because "it's challenging," and gives him something to do in the off-season. He is a linebacker on Lowellville's football team.
Dubos, Lowellville varsity's only freshman, expects to have a "great time" in Chicago, and sees it as a "great learning experience." He is a member of the school's band and track team.
Cosby, who has been on the team four years and is its captain, said she is "just excited to go" to Chicago. "It's fun. We didn't always win," she said.
Members of Boardman's varsity team are Solomon Lu, Disotell, Kelly Lake and Britain Roush. Other team members include Knight, Caleigh Flynn, Alex Lipinsky, Alvin Lu, James Holman, Jon Wallace and Mike McMaster.
Lake said she is looking forward to Chicago. "We're the first [Boardman] team to make it that far. It will be a good memory," she said.
The Academic Challenge team gives some lesser-known people exposure in the school, Disotell said.
"It's not just reading and answering questions. For a lot of the best players, it's lifestyle. You have to want to learn," he said.
alcorn@vindy.com