RILEY MCCLOSKEY

On Saturday, Apr. 27, four Mountain Vista juniors became national champions of the Quiz Bowl at the National High School Journalism Convention in San Francisco. Taylor Atlas, Taylor Blatchford, Wes Edwards and AJ Stowell placed second after a qualifying test on Friday and on Saturday in a “Jeopardy”-like quiz game, they took first with 40-30 against their biggest competitor, Bellarmine Preparatory High School in San Jose, Calif.

It was a close match, with Vista barely leading 35-30 before the last question of the final round. “What are the five…” was all Edwards needed to hear before he buzzed in and listed off the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. “That was essential information that had been drilled into us by our advisor, Mr. Newton,” Edwards said. “Once I heard the beginning of the question, I knew we had the tournament in the bag.”

It was an exciting win for the VISTAj staff members, who all kissed their trophy after the moderator presented them with the trophy.