Quizmeet at Hinkletown: Quizmatches vs. Maple Grove 1 & Hinkletown 3

 AMEC Bible Quizzing stretched the Stony Brook quiz team's patience as they waited for the standings. After 2 quizmatches scoring 155 points, Stony Brook knew they would finish high on the standings, but they did not know how high. Their quiz coach, Graham Holcomb, estimated 3rd place in their league and 5th overall, but he based that estimate off of previous years. Even during their Thursday practice, the quiz team did not know their standings. Then, once everybody got home from quiz practice, the standings finally appeared on the quizzing website, and Stony Brook found out...THEY WERE 1ST PLACE IN THEIR LEAGUE AND 3RD PLACE OVERALL! Furthermore, the team had 3 quizzers in the top 60: Olivia, Kaylee and Kate. While the team rejoiced over their high standing, they knew that it all meant nothing if they did not put the same amount of work into learning Joshua as the work they put into Job. So that's exactly what they did. They studied Joshua just as hard as Joshua.

The Stony Brook quiz team met at the Keenys for practice that Sunday afternoon...well, 3 of the quizzers. The Metzlers had choir practice, so Kaylee, Lauren and Olivia had quizzing practice. The quiz coach Graham designed quiz practice like a 3-way quizmatch, where each quizzer was their own quiz team. For the first practice match, Olivia dominated, answering 12 of 15 questions correctly! For the rest of the practices, Kaylee and Lauren would catch up. After 4 practice matches, the quiz team had a dinner of beef barbecue, with sides of potato wedges, macaroni salad and grapes. Graham left early to meet up with the Metzlers, so he could ride up with Caleb and Kate to give them questions. The whole team reconviened at Hinkletown Mennonite Church for the quizmeet.

After the worship, the Stony Brook quiz team had to wait 3 rounds before their quiz match. Therefore, Stony Brook did what they did last week and watched their first opponents Maple Grove 1 and Hinkletown 3. The poor Metzler quiz team must have thought that Stony Brook was stalking them because 2 of those 3 quizmatches involved the Metzler quiz team! Watching both future opponents, Stony Brook noticed that both of their future opponents errored a lot, to the point of losing points. This gave the quiz team the hope that they could pick up a lot of bonuses from both teams.

Stony Brook vs. Maple Grove 1

Around 7:30, the Stony Brook quiz team met in the Faithful Servant room for their quizmatch versus Maple Grove 1, with Mark Graybill as the quiz master. Maple Grove 1 began the quizmatch on a strong note. They buzzed in on the first three questions. Fortunately, they only got 1 of those buzz ins correct. Unfortunately, Stony Brook could only pick up 1 of those bonuses, thanks to Lauren. By this time, Olivia must have been frustrated that she could buzz in, as on question 4, she buzzed in and answered it correct! Olivia tried to follow up her correct buzz-in with another correct buzz-in, but she ended up with an error, an error which Maple Grove 1's Dana would answer the bonus correctly. Fortunately for Olivia, Dana would commit her own error, giving Olivia a bonus, which she answered correctly. Up to this point, the match was still close. In fact, Stony Brook had a 10 point lead, 30-20. At this point, however, Maple Grove 1 would take off and take control. Of the 9 remaining questions, Maple Grove 1 buzzed in on 8 questions. Of those 8 questions, Maple Grove 1 would answer 7 of them correctly. That 1 question that Stony Brook buzzed in on would result in an error (bonus picked up by Maple Grove 1), and the 1 bonus Stony Brook got was not answered correctly. With all their correct buzz ins, Maple Grove 1 would earn 2 quiz outs and team bonus. Stony Brook would lose to Maple Grove 1 30-130. Of those 30 points, Olivia scored 20 (1 correct buzz in + 1 correct bonus) and Lauren would score 10 points (1 correct bonus).

The Stony Brook quiz team had to wait for the last round for their second quizmatch of the night. Stony Brook gathered in the sanctuary (their first real life quizmatch in the sanctuary!) versus home team Hinkletown 3, with Sam Beiler as the quizmaster. Hinkletown 3 quizzer Elisabeth started out strong with 2 buzz ins on the first 2 questions. Only the 1st question Elisabeth answerd correctly. The 2nd question was incorrect, and Kate would answer the bonus correctly. Again, Olivia must have not appreciated her inability buzzing in, for she buzzed in on question 3 and answered correctly. Hinkletown 3 would own the next 3 questions, and they would buzz in and answer them all correct. It looked like Hinkletown 3 was taking off, as they took the lead 40-20. Once again, Olivia (possibly out of frustration) buzzed in again and answered it correctly again. She was one away from quizzing out. Speaking of 1 away from quizzing out, Elisabeth of Hinkletown 3 was at the same point. In the attempt to quiz out, she ended up erroring out. All 3 of those errors went over to Kate, and Kate answered all 3 correctly. Yes, Kate quizzed out on Elisabeth's error out. On the very next question, Olivia followed up with her own quiz out, all on correct buzz ins. Up to this point, Kate and Olivia owned the Stony Brook side of the quiz match. Now with Kate and Olivia out, Kaylee picked up a bonus, and Lauren got a buzz in right. After 15 questions, Stony Brook WON 90-65.

Stony Brook vs. Hinkletown 3

While the Stony Brook quiz team did not have any 155-point matches this quiz meet, Stony Brook should not frown at their performance this week. Last year, the quiz team only had 1 quizmatch in which they scored over 80 points. If this quizmeet's Hinkletown 3 quizmatch happened last year, it would have been their 2nd highest score. Combining this year and last year's quizmatches, this is the Stony Brook quiz team's fourth highest scoring match. A quarter-way through the season, Stony Brook has a record 3-2, scored a total of 470 points, averaging 94 points per match. Based off last year's standings, a 94-point average should keep the quiz team in the top 5 of the league, but again, this prediction is based off of last year's standings. More impressive though, Lauren broke her personal score record, Kaylee broke her personal score record, and Kate is a mere 3 right answers from tying her personal score record. And this is all within the first 2 weeks of the quizzing season! Just wait and see what else the Lord has planned for this quiz team! :)

Now there was a day when Stony Brook quizzed

 The season opener can already be a busy day. Well, it was about to get busier.

At the coaches and staff meeting the Tuesday before the first quizmeet of 2022, the quizzing coordinator Fred Hertzler pointed out the weather forecast called for snow that Sunday evening. He warned all the coaches and staff that quizzing may have to move up to 2 p.m. As the week went on, it did not look like the weater forecast would change. Therefore, the Stony Brook quiz coach Graham Holcomb warned the quiz team during Thursday practice to be "on call" if quizzing did move up to 2:00 p.m. because if it did move up, quizzing practice would have to take place before and after church. Friday and Saturday passed, and the Stony Brook quiz coach heard nothing.

Then, at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, Graham got the text message. Quizzing had indeed bumped up to 2:00 p.m. Graham sent a group text to whole quiz team, inviting them downstairs in the fellowship for one last quizzing practice before the quizmeet. Fortunately, everybody could make it.

During the 9 o'clock Sunday school hour, the quiz team managed to squeeze out 3 practice matches. In 2 of them, everybody had a buzz-in correct, meaning the team looked good for team bonus because anybody could contribute for team bonus. Furthermore, Olivia quizzed out in all 3 practice matches, proving Olivia could regularly quiz out. The quiz team had truly fixed all their mistakes from their Thursday practices, and this Sunday morning practice merely served as "fine-tuning." Stony Brook was ready.

At the 10 o'clock worship service, the quiz coach introduced the quiz team to the church. During this introduction, at one point, the quiz coach accidently called them by his quizzing church as a quizzer Spring City! Oops! The church prayed over the quiz team, and following, the quiz coach preached a sermon on how Job teaches about suffering and sovereignty.

Once the church service ended at 11:30, the quiz team headed back downstairs to the fellowship for lunch. Quiz coach Graham's wife Carrie made fajitas for quiz team. Originally, the quiz team would have these fajitas over dinner at the quiz coach's home, but fortunately, Carrie could make the lunch at home and deliver the lunch to the church. During lunch, the quiz team read the material and went over rounds of questions. The rounds of questions would the same, if not better, results as the practice matches. The quiz team was "fine-tuned" even more. Then the quiz team all crowded into the Metzler van to head off to Petra Church for the quizmeet. During the ride, Graham went over rounds of questions one last time to "fine-tune" one last time. As the quiz team got closer to the match, the quiz coach closed the rounds of questions with one last pep talk. Reflecting back on his second year of quizzing for his quiz team, who all are in their second year of quizzing, he reminded them to not set expectations too high, lest they possibly face disappointment, but he encouraged them to set a goal of merely doing better than last year, even if it's just getting 1 more answer right than last year or scoring 10 more points than last year.

The Stony Brook quiz team arrived at Petra Church in New Holland a little bit before 2:00 p.m. Due to the last-minute change to 2:00 p.m., quizzing did not have time to have worship. Instead, Petra quickly made announcements, the quizzing coordinator made announcements, and the quizzing was off! Since there were 2 rounds of quizmatches before Stony Brook quizzed, Stony Brook had the opportunity to watch some quiz matches. Stony Brook first watched Gehman vs. Slate Hill because Stony Brook had its first quiz match versus Gehman. Watching that match, Stony Brook noticed that Gehman waited until the end or near the end to buzz in, and Gerhman really couldn't pick up bonuses, so Stony Brook could afford a little risky buzzing. Stony Brook next watched Bowmansville 2 vs. Church of the Brethren. For their first year in quizzing, Church of the Brethren did well, so well that they won! More importantly, Stony Brook noticed that Bowmansville 2 would allow whole question to come out, even sometimes letting whole questions go unanswered. From this, Stony Brook learned that they can afford to let more of the question come out, as long as they buzz in before the question ended. With this knowledge in hand, Stony Brook felt even more prepared.

The starting lineup vs. Gehman

Around 3 o'clock, Stony Brook had their first quizmatch of the 2022 quiz season versus Gehman. Olivia, Caleb, Kaylee and Kate would make up the starting lineup, with Lauren as the first substitute. Kaylee started off the match on a strong note. She made 2 fast yet smart buzzes and answered both questions correctly. 2 questions in, and Stony Brook was already up 20-0. It look Kaylee would quiz out as early as question 3, but that would be interrupted by Olivia, as she also buzzed in fast yet smart and answered both of those questions correctly, raising Stony Brook's score to 40-0 by question 4. Aubrielle of the Gehman quiz team would interrupt Stony Brook's scoring by buzzing in and answering correctly question 5, but Olivia would follow with her third correct buzz in, making her the first Stony Brook quizzer to quiz out this year, all by question 6. For the following question, question 7, Kaylee would follow up with her own quiz out. At this point, Graham called a timeout. Graham felt confident that the rest of the team knew the material, so he pulled out Kaylee, leaving Caleb, Kate and Lauren in the match. The team proved their coach's confidence in his team was true. On question 8, Caleb buzzed in and answered correctly, followed by Kate buzzing in and answering correctly, resulting in team bonus! Even Lauren got in on it, picking up a correct bonus on question 11. Yes, every Stony Brook quizzer scored points within their first match of the year! Caleb and Kate would get another buzz in correct on questions 12 and 13 respectively. Caleb tried to quiz out on question 14, but he errored, and Gehman picked up the bonus. Kate also attempted on question, and she was successful! Yes, Stony Brook had 3 quiz outs within their first quizmatch of the year! Stony Brook would win, 155-20.

There was 3 left vs. Gehman

Stony Brook had no time to celebrate their victory, as they had to head off to their next consecutive match, this time versus Bowmansville 2. Olivia, Kaylee, Kate and Lauren took the starting lineup, with Caleb as the first substitute. Olivia began the match on a good note with correct buzz-in right on question 1. On question 2, Olivia buzzed in, and it looked like she would error, but the quizmaster Sam Beiler admitted he messed up the question, so he threw away the question. When the quizmaster asked a new question 2, Stony Brook buzzed in, not Olivia, but Kate! Kate answered correctly, bumping up the score to 20-0. Olivia would bounce back and buzz in and answer the next 2 question to get her second quiz out of the night. Caleb subsituted, giving him a chance at the last 11 questions. Kaylee hopped in on question 5 with a buzz-in correct. Miles of Bowmansville 2 would interrupt Stony Brook's scoring streak with a correct buzz in, but then Lauren would buzz in on question 7 and answer it correctly, giving Stony Brook team bonus for the 2nd time tonight! Now Stony Brook looked to rack up some more quiz outs. Both Kaylee and Kate took one step closer to quizzing out, answering a buzz-in correct on questions 8 and 9 respectively. On question 10, Bowmansville 2 quizzer Connor broke Stony Brook's second scoring streak with a correct buzz, but on question 11, Lauren followed up with a correct buzz in on her own. Lauren was 1 away from quizzing out! On question 12, Kaylee buzzed in and answered correctly, quizzing out for the second time that afternoon. Caleb had not seen any action up to this point, so he buzzed in on question 13, but unfortunately, he could not answer correctly. Miles of Bowmansville 2 would answer the bonus correctly. On question 14, Kate buzzed in and answered correctly to quiz out, her second quiz out of the quizmeet. On the final question of the quizmatch, Caleb buzzed in and answered correctly, contributing to the team's score. Again, all 5 Stony Brook contributed to the team's score within a single match. Stony Brook won, 155-30.

Stony Brook vs. Bowmansville 2

Stony Brook had little time to celebrate their victory, as they had to head off to their third consecutive match, versus Petra 3. Fortunately, Stony Brook had a quick match before, so the quiz team had to wait for the previous match to wrap up before they quizzed again. Their quiz coach took the time to remind them that any Petra team is a formidable opponent, so the team should just go into the match to take whatever points they could get, win or lose. The team would need this helpful reminder. Petra 3's top 2 quizzers, Josiah and Brennen dominated this match, buzzing in on 7 of the first 9 questions. Josiah errored twice during these first 9 questions, giving Kaylee 2 bonuses, one of which she got right and the other she got wrong. During these first 9 questions, Olivia did buzz in twice, one of which she got correct and the other incorrect. After these 9 questions, Petra 3's Josiah quizzed out, and it looked like Petra 3's Brennan would soon follow. Petra 3's second quiz out, however, would be put on hold. Petra 3's Symantha would buzz in and error on question 10, giving Kate a bonus, which she would answer correctly. Then Olivia would follow up by getting a buzz in correct, her second of the quizmatch. Now it finally came time for Brennen of Petra 3 to quiz out. With Josiah and Brennen, who dominated the match, quizzed out, it look like the perfect opportunity for Stony Brook to catch up to Petra 3. On question 13, Olivia buzzed in...and answered incorrectly. Petra did not get the bonus, but by that time, it was too late. Before question 14 began, the Stony Brook quiz coach Graham called a timeout. He made them aware that they could not win, but he encouraged them to rack up their score, especially Olivia, since she was one right answer away from a quiz out. He even encouraged her to take the risk, even if it meant erroring out. Olivia did take that risk on question 15. Fortunately, the original question 15 Olivia buzzed in got thrown out when the quizmaster asked it incorrectly. Unfortunately, it did not pay off. Olivia ended up erroring out instead of quizzing out. Stony Brook would lose, 40-80, but they did what they came to do: rack up as many points as possible. Stony Brook came out with 40 points, thanks to Olivia's 2 buzz-ins correct, and thanks to both Kaylee and Kate each getting a bonus right.

Stony Brook vs. Petra 3

Stony Brook finished the quizmeet with a 2-1 record. More importantly, since standings go by points scored, Stony Brook scored a grand total of 35 points, averaging 116 points per match. While this year's standings have to come out, looking back at the past couple or few years, a team that finished with a 116-point average would put a team in 3rd place in their league. Let's hope history repeats itself.

Personal Reflections: Remember how I encouraged to set a goal of simply doing better than this year, even it's just answering 1 more question right or scoring 10 more points? Kaylee is literally 1 correct answer away from beating her personal record. Lauren is 1 correct answer from tying her personal record and 2 right answers from breaking her personal record. As a team, Stony Brook has tied their team bonus record. All these records can be broken by week 2! Remember that freudian slip, in which I said Spring City instead of Stony Brook? Well, maybe, just maybe, that was more of a Holy Spirit slip. This Stony Brook team reminds me of my Spring City team from 2007 and 2008. While I do love my Spring City teammates as my brothers and sisters in quizzing, I wish these quizzers, Olivia, Kate, Kaylee, Caleb and Lauren, as my teammates. I have never met a group so motivated and passionate to study the quizzing material, no matter how busy life outside quizzing gets. In the words of my quiz coach Dave Detrick, a team that does such is a team that finds God's favor. I can't see what great and wonderful things the Lord will show the quiz team as we pursue God's favor.