TSD Community:
From: Karl Hummel, High School Principal
It is with excitement that I inform you that our TSD Academic Bowl Team clinched 2nd place in the Gallaudet University National Academic Bowl competition- a historic first for our school. They started this journey by winning 10 consecutive matches to become the Southwest Regional Champions (in Colorado) and went on to win another 8 more matches during the National Academic Bowl (in Washington D.C.) for a total of 18 consecutive wins. This must be put in the perspective that the last 8 wins were against 24 of the best academic bowl teams in the nation before heading into the finals where we placed 2nd after a hard fought match with Rockville High School of Maryland.
It must be said that at one point during the championship round, Rockville High School had a staggering 20+ point lead over TSD but our experienced Academic Bowl Team demonstrated the true heart of a Ranger and kept on fighting and closed the gap to 6 points by the end of the match 73-67. Next year, we’ll come back with boots and all and show them what a true RANGER does. We don’t ever quit, we will push ourselves harder. We don’t ever feel satisfied, we will learn and we will grow from the experience. We’ll make sure that they understand that we continue to belong on the national level.
I speak confidently of this because in the last 3 years, our Academic Bowl Team has had many hard earned lessons that they continue to build on and grow from.
For instance in 2013-14, our team was a wild card entry to the Nationals. This team was a rookie shade of green but unfazed in light of all the talent arrayed against them. They kept their chin high and took learned hard lessons about what it meant to be players on a national level and when they got back, they doubled down on their efforts. They worked their butts off to scrape off their greenness to prepare for what lay head in 2014-15 and came close to clinching the South West Regional Championship (in New Mexico) and lost by one point to California School for the Deaf- Riverside. Despite, this loss- we still managed to clinch a berth in the Nationals for a second year in a row. While we performed better at the Nationals, we eventually lost to a team who became the National Academic Bowl Champion for that year. But in the process, they still earned their blue ranger badges and learned from the experience. This experience only served to magnify our purpose and as a result, our academic bowl team went forth with a renewed sense of purpose by redoubling their efforts. They committed themselves to being the best they could be for the 2015-16 school year. It clearly paid off as our Academic Bowl Team made themselves into a FORCE to be reckoned with picking up win after win and while we were on our way to the championship match we met an old foe- California School for the Deaf- Riverside who beat us for the Regionals last year and beat them this year 46-41.
It can be said that we take defeat and turn them into victories because we understand that there are always lessons to be learned that are used to teach us how to be better, smarter, a fighter… a RANGER!
That being said- please take the time to congratulate the 2nd Place National Academic Bowl Team:
Coach Michelle Halvorsen
Coach Claira Oberrender
Player Lydia Kopp
Player Shane Carrizales
Player Trevor Johnson
Player Damon Rush
President Roberta “Bobbi” Cordano
