Indians prep for national competition

Central’s scholar bowl team was back on the buzzers Monday, getting itself ready for the national stage this weekend.

Off the heels of a Class 6 MSHSAA state title earlier in the month, both the A and B teams of Central will take to Atlanta, Georgia, for the High School National Academic Quiz Tournament that begins Friday. The Indians will enter as one of over 300 teams registered for the NAQT. However, Central’s participation in the national competition wasn’t just an open invite. According to the qualifications for the NAQT High School tournament, teams must be in the top 15% in a tournament which uses NAQT questions, as well as other qualifications outlined on the NAQT website. Central qualified in its first regular season tournament at Lee’s Summit North on Dec. 7 of 2024.

Regardless of how this weekend goes in Atlanta, the program will still have the 2025 Class 6 state title to hang their hats on. Last year’s team fell short of their goal when they placed second in the Class 6 Championships, leaving an opportunity for some of last year’s members like juniors Asav Gupta and Edison Kimmel to redeem themselves a year later. 2025 was a reversal of history. Last year, the Indians fell to Lindbergh in the Class 6 state championship by a wide margin, only for the two teams to return to that same stage in 2025. On the last question of the match, the Indians got their revenge, and added a second state title to the trophy case. 

“There was a lot of stress involved,” Gupta said. “Imagine in football, you got five seconds left to score a touchdown. Everyone is super nervous. You don’t want to drop the ball, you don’t want to buzz in and say something wrong.”

The dramatic finish to a successful season puts a feather in the cap of those like Gupta and Kimmel, who had aspirations of winning a state title since joining the program as freshman.

“This is kind of the peak of  my scholar bowl career so far,” junior Edison Kimmel said. “It feels good. It’s like the first time I've really won state in anything, so it feels good.”