Big upsets and close matches were the themes of last Saturday’s 25^th Annual Illinois Masonic Academic Bowl Regional Tournament at Erie High School.

Results of the tournament:

1^st Place: Riverdale High School ($500 award)

2^nd Place: Lena-Winslow High School ($400 award)

3^rd Place: Morrison High School ($300 award)

4^th Place: Fulton High School ($100 award)

Consolation Champion: East Dubuque High School ($200 award)

The TRAC-8 teams fared well, with three of the top five place winners belonging to the conference.

Riverdale High School fought its way past #2 seed Morrison High School (130-125) to the championship match. Meanwhile, #16 seed Lena-Winslow upset #1 seed Rockridge High School (200-100) in the first round, paving their way to the championship round. Riverdale defeated Lena-Winslow--a close match that came down to the last question--115-100, earning a trip to the Masonic State Tournament March 1^st at Glenwood High School in Chatham.

Local rivals Morrison and Fulton faced off for the third & fourth place titles; Morrison won 150-55. East Dubuque, who beat #3 seed Orion in the first round, defeated West Carroll 120-55 to claim the Consolation Championship.

Erie lost its first round match against West Carroll 145-100. They bounced back in the third round, defeating Galena 110-60. In the fifth round EHS lost to East Dubuque 160-80.

Junior Jes Sasko led in toss-ups for the day with nine, junior Matt Swanson had five, sophomore Sean Leeds had two, and junior Joe Bright added one for the team. Other students who contributed to the team during bonus questions were seniors Sam Berk, Kody Olsen, Matt Armstrong, and Jordan Morrissey; juniors Ashley Heppner, and Brittany Schmidt; and freshman Hannah Sauer.

The varsity team finished their regular season 10-20. They will face Westmer (Joy) at Riverdale High School (Port Byron) March 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the first round of the IHSA regional tournament.

The fresh-soph team has one last tournament Saturday, Feb. 23 at Orion High School.

The Masons have been big supporters of academic bowl—even before the IHSA recognized it as an activity. Since the 1982-83 school year, Masons have been organizing and wholly funding this tournament to provide recognition for academic excellence. Perhaps because of their dedication and support, the IHSA included it in its state series competition in 1987. We would like to take this moment to thank the Masons for providing a positive outlet for our students.

A big thank you to Dale Thayer, Fulton City Lodge No. 189 and Illinois Academic Bowl Committee Chairperson, who organized all the regional tournaments across the state; Thomas Warner, Sr., Fulton City Lodge No. 189, who served as the tournament committee representative; and to Curt Steffes, Erie Masonic Lodge No. 667, who provided food for the workers, coaches, and EHS team.

Special thanks to all the local Masons for not only their monetary support (which includes paying the teams’ entry fees, purchase of questions, plaques, medallions, site honorariums, salaries for officials, etc.) but serving as greeters, door monitors, presenting awards, and helping wherever needed! Members representing the Erie Masonic Lodge No. 667 were: David Meyer, Roland Mose, George Hawk, and Curt Steffes. The teams also appreciated Tom Warner, Jr., of Fulton City Lodge No. 189, for taking group pictures for everyone.

The EHS team and Coach Orman would also like to thank all the people who gave up their Saturday to help work the tournament: moderators Kathy Wiersema, Joel Geisz, Amy Achs, Carolyn Aiken, and Bill Wolf; score-keepers and timers Cindy Drummond, Cilia Maloney, Carol Berk, Bob Bass, Ellen Leeds, Claudia Sauer, Patty Howard, Terri Agnew; student workers (set-up/tear-down, board scorers, tournament central workers, check-in) Shelby Howard, Jordan Achs, Dawn Lackey, Joacin Gurrola, Nate Agnew, Megan Sattizahn, Becca Steffes, Samantha “George” Johnston, Madelyn Dorta, Caitlin DeWitte, and Matt Swanson; and tournament manager Jason Orman, for all his help throughout the day to make sure everything ran smoothly!

Thanks to the parents who donated goodies for the hospitality room: Laura Steffes, Beth Armstrong, Ella Bright, Cilia Maloney, Patty Howard, and the Schmidt family.

Many others contributed to the tournament’s success including: Cindy Weaver and the yearbook staff for concessions, Bud Hunter, Thelma Warner, and all the coaches and players.

Good luck to Riverdale High School as they compete against the winner of the Farmington Regional champion in the first round of the State competition March 1^st!