Academic Quiz Bowl team wins Archdiocesan Theology Bowl
Photo courtesy of Mrs. Marsha Free
St. Pius X won the Archdiocese of Atlanta annual Theology Bowl on March 1. They competed against Catholic high schools across Atlanta, and this was their second championship in three years. From left to right: Mrs. Marsha Free, senior Elle Smith, sophomore Abigail Gregory, seniors Lily Perella and John Nguyen, junior Will McBride, and seniors Rollen Williamson and Brian Knuth.
March 17, 2023
Members of the Academic Quiz Bowl team competed in the Archdiocesan Theology Bowl on March 1 and won the competition for the second time in three years. This competition was hosted at Holy Spirit Prep, where St. Pius faced off against other Catholic schools such as Blessed Trinity, Marist, Holy Spirit Prep, St. Mary’s Academy, and Monsignor Donovan.
The St. Pius team was selected based on their religious knowledge and their time spent on the Academic Quiz Bowl team. In the same way that Nick Fury assembled the Avengers, Academic Quiz Bowl Coach Mrs. Marsha Free assembled a squad of St. Pius’ most mighty theology students. She chose a team mostly composed of seniors because they have four years of religious education from St. Pius. The final roster included seniors Brian Knuth, Rollen Williamson, Lily Perella, Elle Smith, and John Nguyen, junior Will McBride, and sophomore Abigail Gregory. Mrs. Free also took charge of preparing the team for the competition.
“We just made sure that they studied all the quiz bowl questions because they’re oftentimes lots of theology questions and quiz bowl sets,” she said.
The team studied these questions on the bus ride there, and when they arrived at the tournament, their preparation paid off. Senior Brian Knuth, a veteran Theology Bowl member, was in charge of subbing in and out the team’s members between rounds. After going 4-0 in their games, he had a plan for their fifth and final match.
“I put in all the seniors so that we could win together,” said Knuth.
His strategy worked, and the group won their final game to take the championship. Williamson was ecstatic about their win, saying, “It went very well.”
If you are interested in joining the theology bowl team yourself, try your hand at this competition question. If you know the answer, maybe you could have a future as a theology bowl competitor.
Question: This Old Testament Prophet with a book named after him, this man, whose name means “God is Strong,” lived during the time of the Babylonian captivity and is known for having a vision of four wheels that were associated with four living creatures. His book is found between Lamentations and Daniel, and one of his visions was of a valley of dry bones.
