It’s a new year for Quiz Bowl, and on October 2nd, Princeton High School kicked it off with the online tournament PHSAT, run on the NAQT set IS-204. With a new season comes new faces and a new landscape, as great schools from across the Northeast (and beyond!) came together on Discord to battle it out and play their first tournament of the season. The tournament was full of regional and national powerhouses, and many New Jersey teams achieved stellar performances among a very powerful field.
JP Stevens
A large part of JP Stevens’ first major tournament win was the depth created by their highly successful recruitment. Nishanth Bhargava (56.67 PPG) and Tijil Kiran (5 PPG) from last year’s JP Stevens B team joined A team players Kushal Aluru (54.58 PPG) and Sophia Pan (14.17 PPG) to form a very balanced team, combining to garner 21.73 PPB. Their ability to win close games was on display at this tournament, and JP Stevens convincingly erased any doubt that the losses of Allen Wang and Joseph George would slow the team’s incredible progress.
East Brunswick (A 21.98, B 18.05) East Brunswick fielded two strong teams at PHSAT, both of which qualified for playoffs. East Brunswick’s A team, led by junior Tanuj Chandekar (88.18 PPG and 41 powers) and senior Lillian Zhu (41.36 PPG), ended up in 4th place, being the only NJ team to end with a 5-0 record in prelims. The team also achieved a powerful 21.98 PPB combined.
EB’s B team, featuring Simon Emmanuel (42.73 PPG), ended up finishing 8th with a high 18.05 PPB. East Brunswick was also the only New Jersey school to qualify two teams into the playoffs, indicating their powerful coverage. Even more impressive is that they managed this feat while playing both teams without their full rosters. EB is sure to be a top school in the Northeast as the season continues.
High Tech
High Tech’s A team proved to be an imposing presence with a 4th place finish. Max Brodsky (73.64 PPG) led a strong team that defeated powerful out of state teams like Wilton and Ithaca in the playoffs. High Tech A ended with a 7-4 record, while their B team showed balanced coverage and potential throughout their games—they did beat a very good Millburn team. Moreover, High Tech A’s 22.41 PPB and their B team’s 17.85 showcase a remarkable depth of knowledge that will surely come in handy in high-stakes matches. Despite losing a handful of close matches, High Tech continues to demonstrate their excellence and extensive knowledge base.
Ridgewood
Despite graduating players Aum Mundhe and Nicole Pruitt last year, Ridgewood’s performance, placing 9th overall, made it clear that they will continue to be a major player in NJ this season. Leading the team was Aiden Dartley, who led the entire tournament with an incredible 135 PPG combined. Aiden also topped the field in terms of powers, racking up a grand total of 66 across prelims and playoffs. Overall, the team had a whopping 22.76 PPB, again showing their prowess and ability to contend with top teams in the region. More showings like this one are sure to come as Ridgewood continues to play throughout the season.
Edison
Edison also finished in the middle top consolation, showing that the team could be competitive at major tournaments like PHSAT. Paced by seniors Ali Ahmed (40.91 PPG) and Yash Mandavia (40.00), the team also achieved a very solid 18.06 PPB. The rise of Edison’s team over the past couple seasons has been extremely commendable, and performances like this predict a great season for the team.
Millburn
Some believed that the Millburn program would be over with the loss of star player Ben Hu, but the team’s performance at PHSAT proved them wrong. Led in scoring by Zachary Turinsky (53.02 PPG), the team finished solidly in top consolation in an incredibly difficult field and scored a 15.65 PPB. Millburn even beat eventual tournament winners JP Stevens during prelims in a nail-bitingly close match, showing that they can still hold their own against many top teams in the region..
Livingston (aka Taker of L’s)
On an interesting note, Livingston entered PHSAT under a pseudonym - the “Taker of L’s”. However, they proved themselves to be perfectly capable at getting Ws, ending their prelims with a 3-2 record and achieving a respectable 16.34 PPB overall. Their performance was made even more impressive by the fact that their lead scorer, Robert Wang (90.39 PPG) is only a freshman, proving that their program has the potential to last another generation.
Out of State:
Hunter and Detroit Country Day placed 2nd and 3rd overall respectively, while Connecticut-based Wilton and upstate NY team Ithaca also made it into the top bracket in playoffs.
This year’s PHSAT proved how much talent exists in both the Northeast Quizbowl circuit and in the state of New Jersey. This tournament was an absolute joy to play, and Princeton did a wonderful job hosting and running it. Thank you to all the staffers who volunteered their time and energy to make this tournament run smoothly, and thank you to all the players who attended for making it a great experience. I can’t wait to see how things shake out for the Northeast circuit as this season continues.