Cruickshank Middle School is celebrating a remarkable achievement by three stellar students. Samuel Stalnaker, Daniel Chen, and Zachary Robinson won the annual Quiz Bowl during the California Scholarship Federation/California Junior Scholarship Federation spring conference in Hanford on March 17.
The Quiz Bowl began in 1995 and is traditionally a competition among high school teams in the Central Region, which stretches from San Joaquin County in the north to Kern County in the south. Last year was the first time the Quiz Bowl allowed any middle school teams to participate, with the understanding that they would compete against high school teams in any semi or final round. All three boys on the winning team attended last year’s conference and watched the first Cruickshank team compete, which inspired them to sign up this year.
Their adviser, Wendy May, says, “These boys held their own as random questions from literature, geography, history, math, and science were projected on a screen while the proctor read them aloud. Furthermore, there isn’t any official preparation for this event. You either know the answer or you don’t. In the end, Cruickshank beat Visalia’s El Diamante High School by one point! The boys were convinced the winning point for them was from a literature question regarding W.W. Jacob’s, The Monkey’s Paw, which they read at the beginning of the year as part of the district’s new curriculum.”
The Cruickshank students made history with their victory as the first middle school to win the Quiz Bowl. The large perpetual trophy is now displayed in the school’s front office.
Cruickshank Principal Jerod Garst says he and his entire campus are very proud of the boys and their adviser. “Sam, Daniel, Zachary, and Ms. May always go above and beyond in their academic endeavors. We are honored to have them represent Cruickshank Middle School, and we want to congratulate them on this historic achievement.”
Daniel and Zachary also received another special recognition during the conference. They both took home the Marian Huhn Memorial Award. This award recognizes outstanding 8th grade student members of CJSF for their academic excellence and service to their school and community. Fourteen applications were submitted from across the Central Region, and only five students were selected as winners, including Daniel and Zachary. Each of the five students also received a $250 award.
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