This past Friday, May 3rd, Brentwood’s very own Scholar Bowl team placed 4th at the MSHSAA state Scholar Bowl tournament held in Columbia, MO. 

This year marked the first time the Scholar Bowl team, which was started by Ms. Musterman in 2018, has made it beyond the quarterfinals of the state tournament. In fact, this is the first time a team has medaled at state in any sport since 2009 (In 2009, the BHS football team placed first at state!).

“We can really attribute this win to what students learned in school but also taking the extra steps to study outside-of-the-box topics that they had to study outside of school,” said Ms. Musterman. 

With the team’s fourth-place finish, they were awarded a beautiful state playoff trophy and the team members were very excited about the outcome. “Being on the team requires a lot of teamwork because sometimes we have to question our answers, and I felt very very accomplished that we made it to state,” said junior Luc Jones, referring to how sometimes the team comes up with answers that they aren’t 100% sure of that they might need to discuss. 

Teamwork and working together is a major part of this team because sometimes someone might just know the answer that nobody else has, even when it comes to some more obscure questions like from pop culture. The team’s captain, Mark Butler (11), mentioned that one question they received at the state tournament was about the movie Morbius, and he only knew the answer because of the internet memes going around recently. “It’s a big first for the team and we got very close,” Butler said about how they almost won. “It’s very satisfying being able to answer so many questions and connect the pieces through different topics. I’m happy with the team making it so far.”

“It was exciting knowing we made it that far, and I was glad I could rely on my teammates,” added team member Kelly McGee (11).

As for what is ahead for the Scholar Bowl team? Ms. Musterman has high hopes. At the state tournament, BHS almost won third place but was narrowly beaten out by a team composed 100 percent of seniors.  “I’m really excited for this young team,” she said, explaining how BHS’ team only has one senior graduating, Mark Butler. While Butler plays an integral part of the team and will be sorely missed, Musterman hopes the team will have many more years of success.