The following recollections were written by Daniel Wagner of the national championship team from Owasso, OK.
Round 3, James River, John’s Team: This was and will be one of my very favorite matches of all time. Jesse came out hitting, and finally, on the first thirty, Blake got in. He had the perfect hit, but just didn’t have the knowledge. So, we took the reread. I believe Jesse got out by question seven. by that time, Josh got a little bored with sitting back, and he quizzed out by around question 13. Now I had maybe one right with both of my brothers out forwards. the game was bassically sealed. And so I started to hit. I quizzed out pretty quickly after that, and we won by over three hundred.
Round 4, West Plains: Coming off of a big high after the James River match, we were going to play our best friends. This was a messy match for both teams. We were both hindered by a slow reading quizmaster. Finally, late in the game, Jesse quizzed out forward, but with two wrong. It was anybody’s game, especially after Josh went out backward. Then question 17 came, the last thirty. It was a twenty something party answer. And I was the quickest to react. as I hit, the loud sound of buzzers being slammed reverberated. but I had the hit, and everyone at Nationals knew the answer to the fruit of the spirit and the acts of the sinful nature. So, our team breathed a sigh of relief, as we escaped a close one, early on in the tournament.
Round 17, Christian Chapel: This was the last round of the day on Wednesday. we were playing another team of our good friends. These matches can always prove to be tough, the ones with those teams you know so well. Rivalries. And apparently, Christian Chapel wanted to make this one of those heart stoppers. They succeeded. Jesse came out firing again, but died down for a while. He was sitting on four right for what seemed like an eternity. Alyssa was hitting everything perfectly, twenties and thirties. I believe she quizzed out with 130 around quesiton 15. By this time, my brothers and I knew that we could be in real trouble. Josh and I had been essentially silent all game. Finally, Jesse quizzed out. So Josh and I needed to take over. By question twenty, it was still very much up in the air. Whoever would get the last ten would win. It was an early hit, and when I knew that the key word was out there, I eagerly looked up to see who had the hit. My spirits were crushed when I saw that James Craig of the opposing team had his light illuminated. Josh and I had essentially failed. But when, 15 seconds into the answer, James had still not spoken, I thought that it might still not be over. We might still have a chance. And with 25 seconds into the answer, the seconds ticked by slower than ever. But, finally, the buzzer sounded, and James had said nothing. We had won. We didn’t even need the reread. But, that didn’t stop Josh from going for it! My heart pounded once again, but Josh did get it right, although i’m not sure if it was worth the pressure! But, we had won!