The Port Townsend High School Knowledge Bowl Team earned first place at this year’s state competition, taking the gold for the 1A division.

The squad headed east to Wenatchee to face off against the best and brightest of the state.

“From the get-go, this team was special,” Coach Benjamin Dow said. “They had a great combination of smarts, speed, and intuition. They set PTHS records for scoring in Knowledge Bowl competitions throughout the season.”

Facing 14 other teams from around the state and advancing to the finals with two other squads, the students were able defeat Cashmere High School and the former Knowledge Bowl champs of Cascade High School on Saturday, March 11. The Port Townsend students earned the top spot in the finals with a score of 15, followed by Cascade High with 12 points, and Cashmere High earning 6.

Knowledge Bowl is a trivia-style competition where teams of six students compete to answer questions across multiple academic disciplines.

Beyond the state title, the Port Townsend squad also set a team record of 29 points in a single round at the tournament.

The Port Townsend High Knowledge Bowl team consists of seniors Maeve Kenney, Sophie Kunka, and Ashton Meyer-Bibbins along with juniors Indigo Gould, Lhotse Rowell, and team captain Stuart Dow.

Team captain Stuart Dow said, “It’s been really fun to play with such a strong group. We’ve developed a tight chemistry over the course of the season and just have a real sense of when each teammate will have the right answer.”

“That last round was close, but we’d been playing so well all day, it really felt like it was our year to win,” teammate Maeve Kenney said.