Edison Wins Firelands Challenge Championship
Sixth-Straight Title; Second and Third Places Undecided
For the first time in the 37-year history of the Firelands Challenge Program, one high school has won the championship in six successive seasons. The Edison High School team won the final championship match on Wednesday by pulling away from rivals Huron and St. Paul.
The final match scores were Edison 48, Huron 35, and St. Paul 30. The cumulative scores for the three championship matches were Edison 150, Huron 107, and St. Paul 105.
"I am happy to be a part of another historic year for the team. It is great to see all the hard work which the team had done pay off at the end of the season,” were the comments of senior Gavin Schaeffer.
While the champions were crowned in front of a cheering home crowd, the second and third place finishers have yet to be decided. With only two points separating the cumulative scores for Huron and St. Paul high schools, both schools are appealing answers they provided during the match.
The Firelands Challenge program allows teams to file appeals for answers they believe were given correctly, but that were not included on the moderator’s question sheet. An appeals board then reviews the appeals and advises as to what points may have been earned.
Huron was considering appeals of a physical science question and a Team Choice question from Harry Potter: The Chamber of Secrets. St. Paul was looking at an appeal of a government question. Those appeals will be reviewed over the next few days. The final scores for each of the teams may be adjusted.
Like the second championship match, the final match started out with the three teams in close contention. Only two points separated the teams after the first segment of the match.
Edison held a slim five point lead at the mid-point of the match. It earned the edge by answering a Toss-up Question on movie musicals.
The team from Edison used bonus points and a correct Team Choice response to extend its lead to 16 points over Huron and 17 points over St. Paul as the match entered its final segment. Huron answered the Quotations Toss-up question and used Lightning Round points to edge out St. Paul as the match ended.
Edison set a benchmark last year when it won its fifth straight title. This year’s victory sets a new precedent. What enables this success? Team member James Hill cited the work put in over the summer and during the year by his teammates and the team advisor, Shirley Wallrabestein. The time and effort “is worth it because of how much this means to everyone involved.”
Reflecting on the past and future for Edison, senior captain Shea Smith observed, "Being able to win the championship for each of the three years that I have been on the team has been absolutely incredible. The stakes get higher every year, but I have faith in our juniors that they can keep the streak going!"