This past Bible quizzing year, 2025, AMEC Bible Quizzing came close to witnessing a triple crown. In horse racing, the triple crown refers to a horse winning the 3 biggest horse races: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. I have applied the title in Bible quizzing to a team winning the 3 championships possible to win within a Bible quizzing year: the season championship, the local tournament championship and the Invitational championship. Unfortunately, no ACC/AMEC (I imagine Sand Ridge in NorthWest Ohio has done this a few times) quiz team (at least in the 21st century) had ever won all 3 championships. Some quiz teams, however, have come awfully close, winning a double crown, winning 2 of 3 championships. While the triple crown has happened never, the double crown has happened rarely, so rarely the quiz teams who have accomplished such a feat deserve recognition. Based off this rare achievement, a top 5 best quiz teams emerges. Counting down, here are the Top 5 Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Teams (of the 21st century). (I keep saying "of the 21st century" because I began Bible quizzing in 2002, and records become unclear before 2000).
Honorable Mention: 2017 Calvary Monument 1
OK, I know having 2017 Calvary Monument 1 as an honorable mention technically makes this a top 6 list. The 2017 Calvary Monument 1 quiz team, however, has done something that the Top 5 Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Teams (of the 21st century) that no other quiz team in all quizzing history (at least in the 21st century) has done - win the double crown. Besides, this time last year they would have made the list of Top 5 Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Teams (of the 21st century).
In 2017, Calvary Monument 1 had only 4 quizzers, but the team only needed 4 quizzers. Calvary Monument 1's top quizzer, Nate Walls, finished 13th place, scoring 625 points, averaging 33 points per quizmatch. The quiz team's 2nd best quizzer, Luke Misciangna, finished 16th place, scoring 610 points, averaging 32 points per quizmatch. Yes, Calvary Monument 1 quiz team had 2 top 20 Bible quizzers in 2017. The team's 3rd best quizzer, Jake Wise, finished 75th place, scoring 385 points, averaging 20 points per quizmatch. Yes, this quiz team had 3 top 100 Bible quizzers. The 4th quizzer, Lucas Ritzman, barely missed the top 100. His 265 points, averaging 14 points per quizmatch, landed him in 104th place, 4 spots shorts of the top 100. Together, Calvary Monument 1 scored 2125 points, averaging 112 points per quizmatch, clinching them the 1st place seed in League A. In the season playoffs semifinals, Calvary Monument 1 won over Weaverland 1, 100 to 65. In the season playoff finals, Calvary Monument 1 would blow Bowmansville 3 out of the water with a score of 140 to -5, making Calvary Monument 1 the season champions. Calvary Monument 1 had an equally impressive Invitational Tournament performance. Calvary Monument 1 marched through the winners' side of the championship bracket, never losing a single quizmatch on Saturday. Their 1 and only loss would come during the Sunday morning finals, losing to Bowmansville 3 90 to 65. Fortunately for Calvary Monument 1, the championship bracket was a double elimination bracket, so they had to lose 1 more time to be knocked out of the tournament. Even more fortunate, they did not lose a second time. In a rematch, Calvary Monument 1 would win over Bowmansville 3, 90 to 80, earning Calvary Monument 1 their 2nd crown of the 2025 Bible quizzing year. Also, do not forgot that this year may have consisted of some of the most difficult Bible quizzing material ever compiled. Studies show that the brain more easily memorizes narrative over even the most simplistic and easy logic. Half of this year's quizzing material was Pauline epistles, which have great logic and reasoning, but heavily lacks on narrative. When finally reaching the narrative half of this year's material, the stories bounced all over the place. On top of that, quizzers had to remember that, for the first half of the season, "Lord" alone was incomplete and had to be specified as "Lord God" or "Lord Jesus," but for the second half of the season, "Lord" alone was interchangeable with God. Then come tournament, to remember half of the material has "Lord" and "God" interchangeable and the other half had "Lord" alone as incomplete taxed the brain. Despite possibly the worst quizzing material ever, Calvary Monument 1 pulling out 2 championships looks like a miracle. That alone deserves at least an honorable mention!
For why the 2017 Calvary Monument 1 quiz team can't escape the honorable mention to make the top 5, a top 3 reasons comes to mind. First and foremost, their ACC Tournament performance sheds a negative light on the team. Things seemed to be going well for Calvary Monument 1. They went an undefeated 6-0 in in their round robin group, securing the number 1 seed with a bye. Their undefeated round robin record, however, would be the team's highlight of the day. Calvary Monument 1 would not win a single playoff quizmatch, losing their first playoff quizmatch to Carpenter 1. Carpenter 1 finished the season 10th place in League A, the same league as Calvary Monument 1, scoring 1420 points, averaging 75 points per quizmatch. I would not call Carpenter an above average quiz team; I would call that a just average quiz team. I know that the local tournament can easily turn into a tournament that anyone can win. I've seen at least twice a quiz team on the bottom half of their league finish the local tournament as a semifinalist. Heck, I know this personally, as my quiz team that won the ACC Tournament championship finished 6th place in our league. Still, the stats show that, since 24-team playoffs began in 2009, all but 4 of the ACC/AMEC Tournament champions have been the number 1 seed with the bye. Statistically speaking, Calvary Monument 1 were prime to at least advance 1 round in the playoffs, but they could not even do that. If including Calvary Monument 1 with the top 5 teams (of the 21st century), this is the worst tournament performance of them all. Second, Calvary Monument 1's final second record makes them look weak. As stated above, by the end of the season, Calvary Monument 1 averaged 112 points per quizmatch. In comparison, 4 of the top 5 quiz teams on this list will end the season with a 120+ point average. Averaging 112 points next to teams averaging 120+ points looks weak. Third, their season championship performance does not help their case, either. Usually, a season championship finals become a battle of the best wits. Some of the closes season finals never had more than a 20 point lead. The 2017 season finals, however, could easily be the worst season finals ever. If paid attention to that final score mentioned above, Bowmansville 3 scored -5 points. Yes, Bowmansville 3 errored so much that they lost points. Thus, Calvary Monument 1 could have done absolutely nothing during the quizmatch and still come out the winner. Fortunately, Calvary Monument 1 did not do that, scoring 140 points, proving they knew the material. Still, Bowmansville 3 did not give Calvary Monument the chance to error, so nobody would ever know how Calvary Monument would have held up in a grittier situation. Fortunately, Bowmansville 3 would eventually prove themselves as a worth opponent for Calvary Monument 1 in the Invitational Tournament, winning a finals quizmatch versus them and losing the other finals quizmatch by a matter of 10 points. Still, Bowmansville 3 at the end of the season was not that quiz team just yet. Again, I know that these top 3 weaknesses of Calvary Monument 1 can probably be blamed on the difficulty of the material, as mentioned in the above paragaph. Nevertheless, they stick out as weak, especially in comparison to the other 5 quiz teams on this list, so they cannot make it to the top 5, but they do deserve recognition as an honorable mention.
5) 2003 Petra 1
The 2003 Petra 1 Bible quiz team deserve their spot on this list for becoming the trailblazers of the double crown frontier. They were the first team (of at least the 21st century) to accomplish the double crown. They were the only team of the 2000s decade to achieve the double crown. They would stand unmatched for over 10 years, as for the next 10 years, then-ACC Bible Quizzing would not see another quiz team raise 2 championship trophies. If not for the fairly recent explosion in double crown quiz teams, 2003 Petra 1 would stand at the top of this list. 2003 Petra 1 was indubitably Best ACC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team for over 10 years, for the rest of the 2000s decade and even into some of the 2010s decade. Led by legendary quiz coaches Rich & Betty Esh, their 5 quizzers would go on to win both the season championship and the ACC Tournament championship, something unheard of that time. Although Petra 1 could not secure the triple crown, the Invitational performance still impressed. They went 3-1 in their round robin group, securing 1st place in their group, which qualified them for the double-elimination playoffs. Their first lost of the double-elimination playoffs came in the quarterfinals of the winners bracket, losing to Sand Ridge of Northwest Ohio, the eventual 3rd place quiz team of the Invitational tournament. After winning another 2 quizmatches, they would get their second loss in the quarterfinals of the losers bracket, losing to New Hope of Northwest Ohio, the eventual 4th place team of the Invitational. When all was said and done, Petra 1 finished 5th place in 2003 Invitational tournament (technically tied for 5th place with Reading, the previous Invitational champions). While a triple crown would have produced a more satisfying conclusion to year, 5th place place in the Invitational after a season championship and ACC Tournament championship is nothing to complain about at all. And all this before ACC Bible Quizzing got serious about their competition!
Many of the reasons that mention why the 2003 Petra 1 quiz team belong on this top 5 list, however, also brings up the reasons why they don't deserve to go any higher on this list. While their Invitational tournament performance could easily impress, it could equally become unimpressive. Among all the quiz teams mentioned here, including honorable mention 2017 Calvary Monument 1, 2003 Petra 1 has the weakest Invitational performance at 5th place. All the other quiz teams on this list will at least finish in top 3 of their respective Invitational. Also, as mentioned above, this Petra 1 quiz team existed in 2003, a time in which the competition part never got to serious. When the competition does not get too serious, it becomes quite easy for a quiz team who does take the competition seriously to excel to the top parts without breaking a sweat. If at any point quizzing got serious in 2003, it would happen at the Invitational (conference/state pride on the line, I guess?), which would explain why Petra 1 struggled at the Invitational compared to season and the ACC Tournament. If somehow possible to take every quiz team that won at least 1 championship out of their prime, put them in a spaceless and timeless dimension, and give them an infinite amount of time to study and practice the same quizzing material, it would not matter if setting up the tournament like the local tournament or the Invitational tournament, 2003 Petra probably would not make it past the quarterfinals. Modern-day Bible quizzing has become more serious in its competition (for better or for worse), and 2003 Petra 1 would could not and would not keep up with any top-caliber quiz team today. While 2003 Petra 1 definitely belongs on this list, they definitely do not long deserve anything higher than 5th place on our top 5 (of the 21st century) list.
4) 2025 Slate Hill 1
In a way, an argument could be made that there was a tie for 3rd place, for both quiz teams will have 2 championships and a 3rd place in their respective years. I believe I have created an equal and fair tiebreaker, yet I realize how subjective my tiebreaker will seem. Therefore, for the next 2 quiz teams, I will summarize their year that landed them on this top 5 list, and then I will conclude with why I think they fell in their position as opposed to their other position. Without further ado, the quiz team that lost the tiebreaker and landed in 4th place is 2025 Slate Hill 1.
Coached by legendary coaches Caleb & Kara Miller, the 2025 Slate Hill 1 quiz team consisted of 4 quizzers, and all they needed was 4 quizzers. Their top quizzer, Leland Zook, finished 17th place with 690 points, averaging 31 points per quizmatch. Not far behind was their 2nd best quizzer, Katie Umble, who finished in 21st place with 660 points, averaging 30 points per quizmatch. Their 3rd strongest quizzer, Taryn Zerby, scored 575 points, averaging 26 points per quizmatch, finishing 40th place. Their 4th quizzer, Ellie Fasick, scored 425 points, averaging 19 points per quizmatch, finishing in 78th place. Yes, this Slate Hill 1 quiz team had all 4 of its quizzers in the top 100. Yes, this quiz team had 3 of its quizzers in the top 40. This is just looking solely at this year's stats, too. Combining this year stats with previous years' stats makes this quiz team look even more impressive. Leland Zook is a 7-time Top 50 Quizzer, with 1 year perfect and 2 years near perfect, coming up 1 quizout short both years. Katie Umble is a 4-time Top 50 Quizzer, with 1 of those years perfect. Taryn Zerby is a 3-time Top 60 quizzer, with 2 of those in the top 40. Ellie Fasick is a 3-time top 100 quizzer, with 1 of them in the top 50. With 2 former perfect quizzers, a consistent top 60 quizzer and a consistant top 100 quizzer, this team was set up for success. This is a huge positive. On the negative side of things, however, this Slate Hill quiz team produced no perfect quizzers this year. This is a shame considering 2 quizzers on the team had a perfect year at least once before entering this year. In fact, none of the quizzers on this quiz team landed in the top 5, top 10 or even in the top 15 of all Bible quizzers. Blame it on more focus on team than on individual, if you must, but past championship quiz team did indeed have a perfect quizzer, or even just a top 10 quizzer, leading them. For another negative, we have to address the elephant in the room - Katie Umble (no offense to Katie Umble). Katie had just spend the past 4 years quizzing for Bowmansville Mennonite Church. 3 of her Top 50 Bible Quizzer awards, including her perfect year, came from quizzing with Bowmansville. If Bible quizzing had a free agency, Katie joining Slate Hill would have been the free agency pick up of the year (Abby Mohler going from Petra to Strasburg would be a close 2nd). Now to be fair, Katie wanted to study at Messiah College, yet she desired to continue quizzing. It just made more sense to quiz for the next closest quizzing church, Slate Hill, instead of commuting back-and-forth with Bowmansville. Another Bowmansville quizzer, Jesse Yoder, did it about a decade earlier, so Katie could do it, too. At the end of the day, AMEC quizzing coordinator Fred Hertzler and AMEC quizzing pastor Jesse Johnson approved of Katie quizzing for Slate Hill Mennonite Church and quizzing specifically for Slate Hill 1. Therefore, no one had the right to contest or complain; Slate Hill played fair. Still, it feels cheap, almost like cheating, for Slate Hill 1 to bring in outside help when they already had enough strong capability from within their own congregation.
If you're doing the math, Slate Hill scored 2,350 points on merely just answering questions and quizzing out alone. Then add 14 team bonuses (the most team bonuses of any team on this list) and then some more for extra questions answered correctly by quizzed out quizzers remaining in the quizmatch. After 22 quizmatches in the season, Slate Hill scored 2,640 points, averaging 120 points per quizmatch, clinching the 1st place seed in League B. In the season playoff semifinal, Slate Hill 1 would not hold back versus Strasburg 3. With 3 quizouts and team bonus, Slate Hill 1 won 145 to 30. In the season playoff finals, Slate Hill would not dominate as much, but would still have a strong win, winning 100 to 55 versus Blainsport 3, earning their 1st championship of the year. This quiz team was strong all year. They were number 1 in the league all season. They started strong, and they finished strong.
Slate Hill 1 would continue the year strong going into the AMEC Tournament. During the afternoon of the AMEC Tournament, Slate Hill 1 would go undefeated in their round robin group, going 6-0 and clinching the number 1 seed and the bye for Group F. During the evening of the AMEC Tournament, Slate Hill 1 would earn their first win against Grace & Truth, who finished 2nd in Group C, with a 4-1 record, losing only to Rockville 1, a season semifinal quiz team. Slate Hill got their second win of the evening in quarterfinals versus Petra 3, the quizteam who lost the rare season quarterfinals to Strasburg 3 and who went undefeated in their round robin group. The quiz team's 3rd evening win would happen in the tournament's semifinals versus Petra 1, another quiz team who went undefeated in their round robin group. All this led up to the AMEC Tournament championship versus Blainsport 3. Yes, this is an encore of the season championship. This quizmatch, however, was much more entertaining than the season finals. Blainsport 3 came prepared, and they would not allow Slate Hill 1 to win as easily as they did in the season championship. This quizmatch kept going back and forth. After 13 questions, Slate Hill was winning 65 to 55. After 14 questions, Blainsport was winning 70 to 65. Going into the final question, Blainsport 3 had 3 errors and Slate Hill had 5 errors. Slate Hill could lose to their errors alone. On the final question, question 15, the quizmaster asks, "As many as were..." A Blainsport 3 quizzers buzzes in, but he cannot get the right answer. The bonus goes to Slate Hill 1 quizzer Katie Umble, who proceeds to think up the correct answer. The final score: Slate Hill 1 - 75 (5 errors), Blainsport 3 - 70 (4 errors). As if this close quizmatch could not get any more impressive, Slate Hill 1 won a contest, which overruled a decision made by all 4 quizzing conference coordinators!
Then came the Invitational Tournament. Before going to deep into Slate Hill's performance in the Invitational, a discussion of the team itself must occur first. See, Ellie Fasick could not attend the Invitational Tournament on Saturday, but neither could 3 quizzers from Slate Hill 2. Therefore, Slate Hill decided, with the approval of Fred and Jesse, to combine the 2 Slate Hill quiz teams into a single Slate Hill team. In theory, such a decision should not have mattered. No offense to Ellie, but statistically speaking, she was the weak link of the Slate Hill 1 quiz team. In a tournament where winning is all that matters, and a win is clinched at 100 points, and 105 points can be achieved with 3 quiz outs, when a quiz team has 3 solid quizzers very capable of quizzing out, a 4th quizzer really isn't needed. Slate Hill was definitely that quiz team. With 3 quizzers in the top 40, 2 of which had once been a perfect quizzer, Slate Hill definitely could win tournament matches, if not the whole tournament, with just 3 quizzers. Still, it's easier to win tournament matches with 2 quizzers quizzing out plus team bonus, so Slate Hill went the comfortable route by taking in the 2 Slate Hill 2 quizzers who could quiz at the Invitational. Early on, the decision paid off favorably. Slate Hill went undefeated in their round robin group, going 8-0 in Group B. Just like in the AMEC Tournament, Slate Hill started off the Invitational championship playoffs with a win versus Grace & Truth (poor Grace & Truth). They would follow up that win with another win versus MCA 2, a Wayne County team, placing them in the Invitational championship playoffs winners bracket quarterfinals. Then, for the third time in the quizzing year, Slate Hill would have to face Blainsport 3 in a playoff quizmatch. The 3rd time was the charm for Blainsport 3. Finally, Blainsport 3 had overcome Slate Hill for the win. Slate Hill would not end the Saturday quizzing on a sour note. Winning 2 quizmatches versus 2 Strasburg quiz teams, Slate Hill would get to see some Sunday quizzing. Then came Sunday morning, and Ellie is there, yet she did not quiz. Not sure if that was a decision by the AMEC quizzing coordinator, the AMEC quizzing pastor, or the coaches. Not sure if it was because Ellie was not on the roster or if it was just unfair to bench any of the Saturday quizzers for a quizzer who did not contribute on Saturday. Whatever the reason for the decision, the decision may have come back to haunt them. The finals of the championship bracket losers side, which could be considered the semifinals of the championship, would come down to a quizmatch between Slate Hill and Rockville 1. It was a close quizmatch, a quizmatch worthy of a championship, yet when all was said and done, Rockville 1 would come out victorious, winning 85 to 75, winning by a mere 10 points. Speculation will go on for years debating whether or not AMEC quizzing would have their first triple crown if Ellie could have quizzed that Sunday. Instead, Slate Hill would have to settle with 3rd place in the Invitational tournament.
Without spoiling the next quiz team on this list too much, let me try my best to conclude why the 2025 Slate Hill 1 quiz team lost the tiebreaker. Both quiz teams will win within a single year the season championship and a tournament championship. Slate Hill 1's tournament championship will be the AMEC Tournament, and the other team's championship will be the Invitational. Like I said above, the local tournament can easily turn into a tournament that anyone can win, yet the Invitational Tournament comes down to the top teams of each conference, so the Invitational Tournament championship has more weight than a local tournament championship. Furthermore, while Slate Hill did get to see Sunday quizzing during the Invitational, which 2003 Petra 1 did not, all the other quiz teams on this list, including honorable mention 2017 Calvary Monument 1, got to see the Invitational finals, and Slate Hill simply did not. Once more, the addition of Katie Umble felt like Slate Hill had to get unnecessary help, whereas the other quiz team has homegrown quizzers from within the congregation. Last but not least, the tiebreaker may come down to legacy. The other quiz team and its quizzers will have success before and after its great year. The 2025 Slate Hill 1 quiz team had 3 quizzers who were also on the 2024 Slate Hill 1 team, who finished 2nd place in the 2024 AMEC Tournament, but that's it for them, and the rest is yet to be determined. Wait 5 or 10 years in the future, and as long as nobody gets the triple crown, and no one else gets a double crown, 2025 Slate Hill 1 may move up into the 3rd slot. Until then, 20025 Slate Hill 1 is the 4th Greatest AMEC Bible Quizzing quiz team (of the 21st century), but it cannot belong in the top 3. Nevertheless, if somebody asked that 2025 Slate Hill 1 quiz team to comment on ranking 4th of the Top 5 Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Teams (of the 21st century), every single quizzer on that quiz team would tell that person, "It is enough."
3) 2022 Strasburg 1
The 2022 Strasburg 1 quiz team is other the quiz that tied for 3rd place, yet they won all the tiebreakers. Just like with 2025 Slate Hill 1, I will summarize the composition of the quiz team, their season performance, their AMEC Tournament performance, their Invitational performance, and then I will conclude with why they won the tiebreaker.
Coached by legendary coach (and legendary quizzer, too!) Luke Rohrer, Strasburg 1 had 5 quizzers. Their top quizzer, Wesley Leaman, finished perfect, quizzing out every quizmatch, for a grand total of 735 points. Their second best quizzer, Zoe Landis, finished in 26th place, scoring 625 points, averaging 30 points per quizmatch. Their 3rd best quizzer, Ashley Ranck, finished in 37th place, scoring 590 points, averaging 28 points per quizmatch. Yes, Strasburg 1 had 3 quizzers in the top 40 of in the individual standings. Their 4th best quizzer, Owen Hostetter, finished 140th with 190 points. Their 5th best quizzer, Maddie Landis, finished 158th place with 130 points. While it may look cooler that 2025 Slate Hill 1 had all 4 of its quizzers in the top 100, this feat can be explained away by the fact that Strasburg 1 had quizzers, as opposed to Slate Hill 1, which had 4 quizzers. Based off of looking at the numbers alone, I imagine Owen and Maddie had to alternate between starting and subbing, which cut them off from having the chance at all 15 questions, which limited which questions they could buzz in and answer, which in turn limited how many points they could score. Still, from the look of things, they both look like solid 4th seat quizzers for team bonus, making team bonus more likely. May I also add that this is just looking at 2022. Look at the legacy of these quizzers! In his 8 years of quizzing, Wesley Leaman is 7-time Top 50 Quizzer, 2 of which were perfect seasons. On top of that, Wesley has contributed to 3 season championships, a 3rd place in the AMEC Tournament, and an Invitational championship. In her 7 years of quizzing, Zoe Landis is 7-time top 100 quizzer and 6-time top 50 quizzer, with her highest finish in 13th place. In her 7 years of quizzing, Ashley Ranck finished in the top 100 all 7 years, in the top 50 6 of 7 years, in the top 10 3 of 7 years, and she even finished in 5th place twice. On top of that, her team has earned season championship twice, 3rd place in the local tournament twice, and an Invitational championship. Maddie Landis is a 3-time top 100 quizzer, with her highest in 37th place, and furthermore, she has contributed to 2 seasons championships, an AMEC Tournament 3rd place, and an Invitational tournament championship. Talk about quizzers with legacy!
If doing the math, Strasburg 1 scored 2,270 points on just answering questions and quizzing out. Add in 13 team bonuses (that's roughly 3/5 of their quizmatches!), in the 21-quizmatch quizzing season, Strasburg 1 scored a grand total of 2,530 points, averaging 120 points per quizmatch. Interesting enough, Slate Hill this same year had the same exact grand total of 2,530 points! As a result, a quick 9-question quizmatch had to take place to break the tie between Slate Hill and Strasburg 1. Slate Hill would take an early lead, and Strasburg 1 would do a good job catching up, but Slate Hill would win over Strasburg 1 with a score of 55-40. While the loss may seem like a negative, it may have helped Strasburg 1, or even Strasburg Mennonite Church in general, in the long run. In the season playoff semifinals, Strasburg 1 would win over Calvary Monument 1, advancing them to the season playoff finals, in which they would quiz Strasburg 2. Yes, this is the 4th times of 4 years (at least in the 21st century) that the season finals took place between 2 quiz teams within the same church. (This may be a conspiracy theory, but I think maybe Strasburg 1 let Slate Hill win, so Strasburg 1 could avoid quizzing Strasburg 2 in the semifinals, in the hopes of quizzing them in the finals.) Strasburg 2 would have a strong start with their best quizzer Ashton Landis quizzing out early, but Strasburg 1 would take the lead and eventually the victory. Strasburg 1 would win the final match over Strasburg 2, with the score 90-70. Strasburg 1 will not stand solo as the only quiz team on this list to have to face their a quiz team from within their church during the finals, so having to face a quiz team from within the church to win the championship may become the mark of a top quiz team of all-time. Strasburg 1 may not have had the strongest start to the season, at least in terms of a top team. After their first week, they were only 4th in their league with a 98 point average (the book of Job was hard). The second week of the season and thereafter they were always in 1st or 2nd place in their league, and from the 4th week on, they always maintained a point average of 119 - 120 points per quizmatch.
The low point of Strasburg 1's year would come at the 2022 AMEC Tournament, but not by much. Strasburg 1 started off the AMEC Tournament strong. They went an undefeated 5-0 in Group E, clinching the number 1 seed that comes with a bye. Their first AMEC Tournament playoff quizmatch had them pitted versus a very formidable opponent - Strasburg 2! Yes, the same Strasburg 2 that finished 2nd place in the season. Apparently, Strasburg 2 did not have a strong round robin in the afternoon. They went 2-3, but they somehow they had the tiebreaker in their 3-way tie with Good Shepherd 2 and Calvary Monument 2, putting them in 3rd place in Group G, sneaking into the AMEC Tournament playoffs. Strasburg 2 managed to pull out a win versus Petra 6, but now they found themselves pitted against their own church and season champions Strasburg 1. This quizmatch I would describe this quizmatch as "playfully feisty," as this quizmatch also included a contest and rebuttal over something petty. The quizmaster even had to remind the team quizzing that, while a friendly rivalry from within a church, it was still a tournament playoff match, and such manners need to be shown. The results would be the same as the season final, as Strasburg 1 came out the winner, moving on in the tournament playoffs. Strasburg 1 would advance once more with a win over Waterway 1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Strasburg would quiz with Calvary Monument 1. Yes, the same Calvary Monument 1 they quizzed with in the season semifinals. Calvary Monument 1 seemed to have learn their lesson from Strasburg 1 in the season semifinals. This time, Calvary Monument 1 would get the victory over Strasburg 1, winning 85-65. Strasburg 1 finished the 2022 AMEC Tournament as a 3rd place semifinalist alongside Rockville. This is the only time in the year that Strasburg 1 would not make it to the finals.
If a 3rd place in AMEC Tournament somehow put a damper on 2022 Strasburg 1's year, then Strasburg 1 would get back into the swing of things with the 2022 Invitational Tournament, hosted by AMEC at Lancaster Bible College. In the round robin, Strasburg 1 finished number 1 in Group G with an undefeated 7-0 record, qualifying them for the Joshua bracket, the name for championship playoffs. From the spot on the playoff bracket, Strasburg 1 kept winning, marching up the playoff bracket. This winning streak led them all the way up to the Sunday mornings, when the would quiz...Strasburg 2. Yes, for the 3rd time this year, Strasburg 1 and Strasburg 2 would find themselves in a playoff quizmatch together, and the 2nd time in a finals quizmatch. Apparently Strasburg 1 wasn't the only Strasburg team that cleaned up their quizzing since the AMEC Tournament! Even with both quiz teams improving from the AMEC tournament, the results of the head-to-head quizmatch still remained the same. For the 3rd time in 2022, Strasburg 1 would become the winner over Strasburg 2. Thus, Strasburg 1 become the champion of the 2022 Invitational Tournament. In their championship run, Strasburg 1 quizzed 13 quizmatches, and they never lost a single one. Strasburg 1 is the only Invitational champions in this list to win the Invitational tournament undefeated.
The 2022 Strasburg 1 quiz team has its pros and cons why it belongs in 3rd place. The pros not only defend the tiebreaker over the 2025 Slate Hill 1 quiz team, they also justify the 3rd place among all the top 5 greatest quiz teams. Strasburg 1 had 3 Top 40 Bible Quizzers, including 1 perfect one. What amplifies this fact is that Strasburg Mennonite Church had so many good quizzers that they could form 2 teams that could make both the season final and the Invitational final. Seriously, Strasburg Mennonite Church could have arranged and rearranged the quizzers of Strasburg 1 and Strasburg 2 into any 2 team formations, and both teams would have still seen the season finals and the Invitational finals. Not only are all these Strasburg 1 quizzers home grown, they all have a legacy, in both the team standings and the individual standings, and both before and after the 2022 quizzing year. The biggest tiebreaker over 2025 Slate Hill, however, would be Strasburg 1's Invitational championship trumps Slate Hill's AMEC Tournament championship. The AMEC Tournament can easily become an "anything goes, anyone can win" tournament. The Invitational tournament, however, requires a quiz team to be one of the top teams in the conferences, so much so that team better be a top team or deal with the consequences. For that reason, Invitational Tournament always carriers more weight than the AMEC Tournament, so the Invitational Tournament championship has more weight than the AMEC Tournament championship. As a closer secondary tiebreaker, Strasburg 1 has a better legacy, with quizzers on the quiz teams who had multiple Top 50 Bible Quizzers List appearances, as well as team trophies earned. With that being said, Strasburg 1 suffered from several drawbacks that would prevent them from climbing any higher on this list. Whereas so many quiz teams on this list will have all its quizzers in the top 100, Strasburg 1 has 2 quizzers outside the top 100, and together, they could not score as much as 1 quizzer. To make matters worse, Strasburgs 1's 4th and 5th best quizzer scored a combined 320 points, 100 under what other teams' 4th best quizzer can do. Combine those 2 facts, and it looks like Strasburg 1 had 3 above average quizzers and 2 average quizzers. Many of the other quiz teams on this list will manage to land 4 quizzers in the top 100, if not more, making them all above average quizzers. With all this in mind, Strasburg 1 deserves 3rd on this list, especially considering they broke the tiebreaker, but they do not have enough proof or evidence to advance them further up the list.
2) 2016 Calvary Monument 2
Again, an argument could be made that there's a tie for the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century), for both teams will come 1 quizmatch away from the triple crown. Therefore, this time too I will have to create a tiebreaker to justify which quiz team is deserves 2nd and which quiz team earned 1st. I will continue my pattern. First, I will describe the quiz team and how each quizzer did in the individual standings. Next, I will describe how the quiz team did in the season. Then, I will describe how the team did in the tournaments. Finally, I will conclude why I placed one quiz team over/under another.
Coached by legendary coaches Darrel and Ladina Rishel, the 2016 Calvary Monument 2 quiz team had 5 quizzers. Their top quizzer this year was Ashley Rickards, who finished 11th place with 565 points, averaging 33 points per quizmatch. Their 2nd best quizzer was not too far behind. Jacqueline Ritzman finished in 17th place with 530 points, averaging 31 points per quizmatch. Their 3rd best quizzer was David Rishel, who finished 40th place, scoring 445 points, averaging 26 points per quizmatch. Again, the pattern continues of having 3 quizzers in the top 40. Their 4th best quizzer was Jake Wise, who scored 205 points, averaging 12 points per quizmatch, placing 131st. Last is Lucas Ritzman, who placed 207th with a score of 70 points, averaging 4 points per quizmatch. Since it's highly unlikely that Lucas quizzed out twice and did nothing for the rest of the season, it's more likely that Lucas got just 7 questions correct all season. His placing, his total score and his average score are the lowest of all the quizzers on this list, yet he belongs and contributed to the 2nd Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Teams (of the 21st century). Again, we have to talk about the legacy of these quizzers. Ashley Rickards is a 5-time top 60 Bible quizzer and a 4-time Top 40 Bible quizzer. With her team, she's been to the season playoff finals twice (1 win & 1 loss), a 1-time local tournament champion, a 3-time local tournament semifinalist, and her team has been 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the Invitational. In her 4 years of quizzing, Jaqueline Ritzman finished all 4 years as 1 of the top 75 Bible Quizzers, 3 of which fell in the top 20. Her 4 teams have been 1-time season champions, 1-time local tournament champions, 2-time local tournament semifinalist (yes, 3/4 of her quizzing career had her team make it to at least the local tournament semifinals), and she has quizzed half her career in the Invitational finals (one championship, one runner-up). In his 6-year quizzing career, David Rishel finished among the top 40 Bible quizzers all 6 times, 2 of which was perfect! Ironically, this 2016 season's 40th place is the lowest he ever finished. For what the team did in 2016, I think it's a fair trade off. Sparking of team, David's teams are 1-time season champions, 2-time local tournament champions, 3-time local tournament semifinalist (yes in 5/6 of David's quizzing years, he has quizzed in at least a semifinal quizmatch in the local tournament), and in the Invitational, his team has finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. While Jake Wise has never finished higher than 75th in the individual standings, his teams at 2-time season champions, 1-time local tournament champions, 1-time local tournament semifinalist, 2-time Invitational champions and 1-time Invitational runner up. Lucas Ritzmas has never even broken the top 100 in the individual standings, but being on the same teams as Jake Wise, he too is a 2-time season champion, 1-time local tournament champion, 1-time local tournament semifinalist, 2-time Invitational champion and 1-time Invitational runner up. Truly Jake and Lucas are riding on the coattails of some powerful people here. Still, somehow it works. Ashley, Jacqueline and David do the heavy lifting, Jake and Lucas bring up the rear, and together it forms a strategy to win championships.
Going off raw score alone, the 2016 Calvary Monument 2 quiz team scored a total of 1,815 points. Add 10 team bonuses and then some extra points scored by quizzed out quizzers, 2016 Calvary Monument 2 scored a grand total of 2,030 points, averaging 119 points per quizmatch in this 17-quizmatch season. Again, that's about average for these best quiz teams (of the 21st century). Those 2,030 total points clinched the Calvary Monument 2 quiz team the number 1 seed in League A, qualifying them for the season playoffs. In their semifinal playoff quizmatch, Calvary Monument 2 would score 90 points, and Blainsport would score 65 points, making Calvary Monument 2 the quiz team to advance to the season finals. In the season final playoff quizmatch, Calvary Monument 2 would face off with Calvary Monument 1. Yes, this is the 2nd time of 4 years (at least in the 21st century) the season final came down to 2 quiz teams from the same church. After 13 questions, Calvary Monument 2 took a sizeable lead on Calvary Monument 1. In a desperate attempt, Calvary Monument 1 pulled every quizzer except Emily Pearl, leaving her sitting up on stage by herself, a very common Calvary Monument strategy. This time, the strategy did not pay off with the win. Instead, Calvary Monument 2 won, 90 to 55, thus becoming the season champions.
The 2016 Calvary Monument 2 quiz team would earn their 2nd championship at the 2016 ACC Tournament. Earning this championship, however, did not go as smoothly as how the quiz teams mentioned before won their local tournament. Ever since the local tournament playoff tree expanded to 24 quiz teams, only 1 tournament had a 3 seed win the championship, and only 3 tournaments had a 2 seed win the championship. 2016 Calvary Monument 2 is one of those 2 seed quiz teams to win the championship. Despite clinching a seed in Group H by finishing as 1 of the top 4 teams in League A during the season, the Calvary Monument 2 did not clinch 1st place in Group H. That honor of 1st place in Group H went to E-Town 2, who during the season finished 14th in League B with a total of 1,165 points, averaging 69 points per quizmatch! This proves my statement made previously about the local tournament easily becoming a tournament in which anything goes and anyone can win. Despite the rocky start, Calvary Monument 2 marched down the playoff bracket, with wins versus Zion (No. 3 in Group C), Hinkletown 1 (No. 1 in Group A) and Bowmansville 3 (No. 2 in Group D). The challenge ramped up in the semifinals when Calvary Monument 2 came face-to-face with Calvary Monument 1. Yes, 1 of the tournament's semifinal matches was a rematch of the season final. This quizmatch must have felt tougher to Calvary Monument 2, as the score was always close, even up to the end. Calvary Monument 2 would end up on top, winning by a mere 5 points, 75 to 70. In theory, the challenge should have stayed ramped up with the tournament's final versus Blainsport, a rematch of 1 of the season playoff semifinal matches. In reality, Blainsport did not hold up during the ACC Tournament final as well as the ACC season playoff semifinal. Calvary Monument 2 blew Blainsport out of the water with a final score of 125 to 50. 2016 Calvary Monument 2 would become the first team to win both the season championship and the local tournament championship since 2003, when Petra 1 did the same thing (as mentioned earlier), and no quiz team would do it again until 2025, when Slate Hill 1 did the same thing (also mentioned earlier).
The 2016 Invitational tournament hosted by Wayne County in Kidron, OH did not go smoothly for the 2016 Calvary Monument quiz team either. 2016 Calvary Monument 2 did have a smooth Saturday morning, winning their first quizmatches. The first Saturday afternoon quizmatch went well, too, with a win versus Rockville 1. In their second Sunday afternoon quizmatch, the semifinals of the winners bracket, the Calvary Monument 2 suffered a devastating loss in a quizmatch versus Blainsport. Yes, a rematch of 2016 ACC season playoff semifinals and the 2016 ACC Tournament finals took place in the winners side of the Invitiational triple-elimination bracket in the semifinals. Well, the third time was the charm for Blainsport, as Blainsport finally learned how to overcome Calvary Mounment 2, knocking Calvary Monument 2 into the 2nd chance bracket of the triple-elimination tournament. Calvary Monument 2 would bounce back with 2 more wins versus Sonnenberg from Wayne County and Bowmansville 1. By doing so, Calvary Monument 2 would find themselves face-to-face with Calvary Monument 1. Yes, the Invitational 2nd chance bracket finals was a rematch of the ACC season finals and the ACC Tournament semifinals. Well, 3rd time was the charm for Calvary Monument 1, too. Don't get me wrong; it was a good show of good quizzing. Between the two teams, there were only 3 errors the whole match, and none of the bonuses were missed. This match was close at well, but Calvary Monument 1 would win against Calvary Monument 2, 95 to 70. Calvary Monument 2 would end their evening with the same way they began their afternoon - a win versus Rockville 1. On Sunday morning, the Invitational semifinals would take place between Calvary Monument 2 and Blainsport. Yes, for the 4th time this quizzing year, Calvary Monument would come face-to-face with Blainsport. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as "4th time is the charm." Calvary Monument 2 would get their revenge versus Blainsport, winning a close quizmatch, with a final score of 80 to 60. When all was said and done, the final 2 teams in the 2016 Invitational tournament would be Calvary Monument 1 and Calvary Monument 2. Yes, the 2016 Invitational finals would be a repeat of the 2016 ACC season finals and the 2016 ACC Tournament semifinals. Actually, it wasn't quite that simple. See, entering Sunday morning, Calvary Monument 1 had only 1 loss. In a triple-elimination tournament, Calvary Monument 1 would have to lose twice more to be eliminated from the tournament, meaning Calvary Monument 2 would have to win over Calvary Monument 1 twice in a row to become champions. That was asking too much from Calvary Monument 2, who struggled Saturday. Calvary Monument 2 did put up a fight. They won the first finals quizmatch, 100 to 30, a decisive win. Now with both quiz teams only having 2 losses in a triple-elimination tournament, Calvary Monument 1 and Calvary Monument 2 would face off for the 3rd time this tournament and the 5th time this year (not counting the probable multiple times these teams faced off in practice). On that 2nd Invitational finals match, that 3rd Invitational head-to-head, Calvary Monument 1 pulled an early lead and held onto it for most of the match. Calvary Monument did attempt a comeback, but as the match came near the end, Calvary Monument 1 still trailed by a chunk of points. Near the end, Ladina Rishel pulled every quizzer exept David, with the hope David could quiz out and force the match to go into overtime. His sister, Emily Pearl, sitting across from him, had other plans. David would never get that quiz out, the quizmatch would never go into overtime, and instead, Calvary Monument 1 would come out the victor and the champion of the Invitational tournament. When it comes to Calvary Monument 1 vs. Calvary Monument 2 face off, in the Invitational, Calvary Monument 1 won the series, 2 quizmatches to 1 quizmatch, thus Calvary Monument 1 deserved the Invitational championship. when it comes to Calvary Monument 1 vs. Calvary Monument 2 head-to-head for the year, however, Calvary Monument 2 won the series, 3 quizmatches to 2 quizmatch, thus deserving the title of the better team this year. I will credit, kudos and props all around to coaches Darrel and Ladina Rishel for their integrity and sportsmanship. If I recall correctly, the 2 teams prayed together before the finals. If I was in the position of the Rishels, before the prayer huddle broke, I would have said to Calvary Monument 1, "Listen, Calvary Monument 2 is on the verge of history. They are just 1 win away from securing the 1 and only triple crown in ACC Bible Quizzing history (of at least the 21st century). Back down and let them win. I know you want this championship badly after coming short twice, but 2nd place in the Invitational is still pretty impressive, and it's very impressive next to 2nd place in the season and 3rd place in the ACC Tournament. Let Calvary Monument 2 have this." Perhaps their integrity and sportsmanship is why the Lord has blessed them with legendary coach status and not me.
So far, this is the best performance of all the quiz teams on this list up to this point. The 2016 Calvary Monument 2 quiz team got to quiz in all 3 final quizmatches: the season final, the local tournament final and the Invitational final. Furthermore, they won 2 of those 3 finals, winning the championship for 2 of the 3: the season and the ACC Tournament. Making 3 finals and winning 2 of them is the primary reason Calvary Monument 2 is the 2nd Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century). They just fell short by not securing the Invitational Tournament. That's probably the primary reason they didn't make number 1 on this list. Not to spoil too much, but the number 1 quiz team will take both the season championship and the Invitational championship. As stated already multiple times already, Invitational championship hold more weight than local tournament championship because the local tournament has a "anything goes and anybody can win" attitude, whereas the Invitational tournament comes down to the top teams. Previous quiz teams on this list have won the Invitational championship. Even the prior teams who haven't performed in the tournament did just as well as 2016 Calvary Monument 2, despite the lower placing. It just looks different because of the different formats of the tournament. While falling just short of the Invitational championship is disappointing enough, their whole Invitational performance was disappointing overall. Another reason for giving their ACC Tournament less weight is their sloppy performance in that tournament. Despite being seeded in the round robin, they could not secure seeding in the playoffs, and the just barely won their semifinal quizmatch. 2025 Slate Hill 1, who is the 4th Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century) won the 2025 AMEC Tournament never losing a quizmatch. That's more of the performance I would expect from the 2nd best quiz team (of the 21st century). If I had to give a secondary reason for denying 2016 Calvary Monument 2 the number 1 spot on this list, it would be the individual quizzers and their legacy. Don't get me wrong; it's not bad. In fact, if I had to give a secondary reason for making 2016 Calvary Monument 2 the 2nd Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century), it would be the individual quizzers and their legacy. Furthermore, just like with 2022 Strasburg 1, Calvary Monument Bible Church had such a strong pool of quizzers in 2016 that any combination of quizzers from Calvary Monument 1 and 2 could have resulted in 2 championships and 1 runner-up. Still, 2016 Calvary Monument 2 does come short of their full potential. 2016 Calvary Monument 2 has a 2-time prefect quizzer on their quiz team. Not only does he not finish the year perfect, he is neither the best quizzer on the quiz team, nor is he the 2nd best quizzer on the quiz team! He's their 3rd best quizzer, barely making the top 40 of the individual standings. 2 of 2016 Calvary Monument 2's quizzers will go on to be part of the 2017 Calvary Monument 1 team, arguably, the 6th best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing quiz team (of the 21st century), but in 2016, they brought up the rear of this quiz team, and in 2017, they will bring up the rear of that quiz team. Once again, not to spoil too much, but the number 1 team will have quizzers with a better legacy, including being the best quizzers of their quiz team and their church. In a way, 2016 Calvary Monument 2 is tied for the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century), but all the tiebreakers drop them down to 2nd best, leaving the number 1 spot vacant for another quiz team.
1) 2014 Bowmansville 2
And now here stands the quiz team that won all the tiebreakers for 1st place and surpassed all the other quiz teams on this list. Here stands the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century): 2014 Bowmansville 2. Let me introduce you to the quizzers on the 2014 Bowmansville quiz team, and then let me tell you how well Bowmansville 2 performed in 2014.
Coached by legendary coaches (running joke aside, if anyone ever establishes a Bible quizzing hall of fame, all these teams' coaches belong on it) Aubrey Haller and Donna Horst, Bowmansville 2 had 5 quizzers. Their top quizzer, Ethan Yoder, finished 22th place in the individual standings, with a score 575 points, averaging 30 points per quizmatch. The crazy thing about that stat is that would make Ethan Yoder the lowest top quizzer of all the teams on this list! Their 2nd best quizzer, Derick Weaver, finished in 36th place with a score of 525 points, averaging 28 points per quizmatch. Not far behind was Brett Haller, scoring 520 points, averaging 26 points per quizmatch, placing him in 39th, making him the 3rd best quizzer on the Bowmansville 2 quiz team. Once again, the pattern continues that the best quiz teams have their best 3 quizzers finished in the top 40 of the individual standings. Ranking 4th on the quiz team, Erin Shirk 91st place in the individual standings with a score of 310 points, averaging 16 points per quizmatch. That makes this 2014 Bowmansville 2 quiz team and the 2025 Slate Hill 1 quiz team that only teams on this list to have their starting 4 quizzers all fall in the top 100 of the individual standings. Last but not least Devin Weaver landed in 199th place with his 80 points, averaging 4 points per quizmatch. Devin may have only gotten 8 questions right all season, but it kind of makes sense considering he was most likely the regular substitute. 80 points is not bad for somebody sitting on the bench, waiting for someone to quiz out, so he or she can enter the quizmatch. While not as low (barely) as Lucas Ritzman on the 2016 Calvary Monument 2 quiz team, Devin just goes to prove that not everybody on a top quiz team needs to be a top scorer, yet that quizzer can score just enough to give the quiz team the edge, as will become evident later. Once again, we got to talk legacy. In his 5 years in Bible quizzing, Ethan is a 4-time top 100 quizzer, 3 of which are in the top 25. Furthermore, his quiz team has participated in 3 season playoff finals (with a 2-1 record in them), 2 ACC Tournament finals (with a 0-2 record), and 3 Invitational finals (1-2 in them). In his 7 years of quizzing, Derick Weaver is a 6-time top 60 Bible quizzer, with 2 of them in the top 15 (I'm not going to comment on his teams' performances, for that will spoil the grand conclusion). As a quizzer for 6 years, Brett Haller finished on the Top 50 Bible Quizzers List 5 of those years, with 3 of those years in the top 15. As a quizzer, he was a season champion for 2 consecutive years (3 consecutive years if counting a year as a coach!) and an Invitational champion, as well as an ACC Tournament runner-up. Erin Shirk, in her 8 years of Bible quizzing, is a 3-time Top 60 Bible quizzer. Devin Weaver, in 4 years of Bible quizzing, only finished once in the top 100, in 2013, at 79th (his teams' performance will also wait until the conclusion). This legacy may not look as impressive as previously mentioned quiz teams, but it does prove once mantra true: "It's not the team with the best players that wins championships; it's the players with the best team." Surely, Bowmansville 2 did not need all-star quizzers to put together an all-star team.
Just adding the raw score of the individual standings, the 2014 Bowmansville 2 quiz team scored a total of 2,010 points. Add in 13 team bonuses and then some extra points for extra questions, 2024 Bowmansville 2 scored a grand total of 2,275 points, averaging 120 points per quizmatch, which roughly equates to having team bonus, 2 quizouts and 1 extra question correct every quizmatch. This grand total score landed the Bowmansville 2 quiz team not only 1st place in League A but also 1st place of all the ACC Bible Quizzing quiz teams that year by a matter of 90 points (see, it would have been a whole lot closer without Devin's 80 points!). The 2014 Bowmansville 2 quiz team is only quiz team on this list to finish the regular season in 1st place in both their league all of ACC/AMEC. A win versus Gehman 3, who finished 2nd place in League B, in the season playoff semifinals would advance Bowmansville 2 to the season playoff finals vs. Petra 1. The season playoff finals between Petra 1 and Bowmansville 2 always remained close, but Bowmansville 2 would inch out to become the winner with a score of 85 to 80, earning their first championship of the year.
If anything would dim Bowmansville 2's 2024, a lowlight would be the 2014 ACC Tournament. Bowmansville 2 finished 1st place in Group B, clinching a bye in the ACC Tournament playoffs. They won their 1st playoff quizmatch versus Calvary Monument 2. They won their quarterfinals playoff quizmatch versus Weaverland 2, albeit a close win (the entire quizmatch was always close). In the ACC Tournament semifinals, Bowmansville 2 would find themselves face-to-face with Petra 1, a rematch of the season finals. Both quiz teams came with their A game, as both teams got team bonus. In this quizmatch, however, Bowmansville 2 had a more definitive win, with a score of 110 to 80, proving that season finals victory was no fluke. The ACC Tournament finals would come down to Bowmansville 2 vs. Calvary Monument 1. Bowmansville 2 took an early 20 point lead, but 20 points would be their biggest lead of the whole quizmatch. After a close quizmatch, Bowmansville 2 would lose to Calvary Monument 1, 65 to 75, by a matter of 10 points. Between Bowmansville 2's early lead and Calvary Monument 1's close win, it felt like Bowmansville 2 could have taken the win, but simply did not, which could even by chalked up to luck of the draw, from luck of the draw with the questions to luck of the draw with the buzzes. While Bowmansville 2 did have some close wins (plus 1 close loss), they did their ACC Tournament the way a local tournament should be done. They secured 1st place in their group to clinch the bye, and then they marched down the playoff bracket to the final quizmatch. They just couldn't follow through with the win.
2014 Bowmansville 2 might just have the craziest Invitational performance on this list. On Saturday morning at 9:40 a.m., Bowmansville 2 has their first quizmatch of the Invitational, and they lose their first quizmatch to Petra 3, who finished the season 15th in League A with 1,345 points, averaging 71 points per quizmatch (if it makes Bowmansville 2 feel any better, Petra 3 would eventually finished 7th place in the tournament)! Perhaps it was a stroke of genius to lose the first quizmatch in order to ensure easier opponents for the rest of the morning. Maybe Bowmansville 2 was just too tired from quizzing so early in the morning. Either way, Bowmansville 2 would have to spend the rest of the tournament in the 2nd chance bracket, the bracket for quiz teams with 1 loss. The good news is that Bowmansville 2 got the loss out of the way quickly. Bowmansville 2 would march down the 2nd chance bracket, winning every quizmatch, including the 2nd chance bracket finals, making them the "winners" or "champions" of the 2nd chance bracket. They never had to see the 3rd chance bracket with all the quiz teams who lost 2 quizmatches. Instead, they advanced to the Invitational tournament quarterfinals. Winning the 2nd chance bracket would pit them versus Orrville, the "winners" or "champions" of the winners bracket, meaning Orrville had not lost a quizmatch to this point. In the Invitational quarterfinals, Bowmansville 2 would deliver Orrville their first 2 losses (it was just the way the triple-elimination tournament was set up) in a row, thus advancing them to the tournament's finals (again, just the way the tournament was set up). Bowmansville 2 would not have to face Orrville again, as Petra 1 would give Orrville their 3rd loss in the Invitational semifinals, thus eliminating them from the tournament. Rather, Bowmansville 2 would have face off with Petra 1 again again, just like did they for the season finals and the ACC Tournament semifinals. In this Invitational finals quizmatch, it was third time the charm for Bowmansville 2 and 3 strikes and you're out for Petra 1. Bowmansville 2 won, Petra 1 lost, giving them their 3rd loss of the tournament, thus eliminating Petra 1 from the tournament, thus crowning Bowmansville 2 the Invitational champions. After losing their first quizmatch of the tournament, knocking them out of the winners bracket and into the 2nd chance bracket, Bowmansville 2 won 13 matches in a row, including 2 consecutive matches versus Orrville, to become the champions of the tournament. Indeed, we have seen better Invitational tournament performances. Of course, 2022 Strasburg 1 won their Invitational undefeated. Even honorable mention 2017 Calvary Monument did not lose their 1 and only loss until the finals versus the eventual 2nd place. Heck, even teams that did not win the tournament like 2016 Calvary Monument 2 and 2025 Slate Hill 1 did not get their first loss until Saturday evening, and they were not eliminated from the tournament until Sunday morning. Still, 1 loss is just 1 loss, no matter where it happens in the tournament. When all is said and done, Bowmansville 2 won the Invitational tournament.
If not evident already, for all these reasons, the 2014 Bowmansville 2 quiz team is the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century). 2014 Bowmansville 2 earned the double crown of both the ACC season champions and the Invitational tournament champions. While Bowmansville 2 could not secure the ACC Tournament championship, they at least made it to finals, they kept it close, they only lost by 10 points, and still came home with a 2nd place trophy. Whereas 2016 Calvary Monument 2 performed similarly with 1st place in both the season and the ACC Tournament and 2nd place in the Invitational, Bowmansville 2 deserves the tiebreaker because the Invitational holds more weight than the ACC Tournament (I'm not repeating myself again why). If the quiz team's performance does not hold enough proof, the individual quizzers' performance provides even more evidence on why 2014 Bowmansville 2 is the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century). Like all the other quizzers of the quiz teams on this list, the team's top 3 quizzers all landed on the top 40 Bible quizzers in the individual standings. Unlike the other 5-quizzer quiz teams, their 4 best quizzer still managed to squeeze out a spot on the top 100 Bible quizzers in the individual standings. Also, their quizzers have the best legacy on this list, proving this spectacular year wasn't a fluke. Speaking of legacy, let me add one last reason why the 2014 Bowmansville 2 quiz team is the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century). Give or take, Bowmansville virtually almost did it again in 2015. In 2015, Bowmansville 2 wins the season championship for a 2nd consecutive year, and then they go on to finish in 2nd place in both the ACC Tournament and the Invitational tournament. While not as impressive as 2014, if you think about it, that means that Bowmansville 2 quizzed in 6 consecutive championship quizmatches. The only reason I say "give or take" and "virtually" is because (and I imagine you're wondering) it's not the exact same quiz team. The 2 Bowmansville 2 quiz teams share 3 quizzers: Derick Weaver, Ethan Yoder and Devin Weaver. Brett Haller is forced to retire due to aging out of quizzing. He returns as as an assistant coach. He is replaced by his sister Lauren Haller, who the previous year was the top quizzer for Bowmansville 3, which makes sense (it also helps to be the coach's daughter). Erin Shirk ends up on Bowmansville 1 instead of Bowmansville 2 for reasons unknown. In her place the spot is filled by Savanna Brubaker, who only got 3 questions right the previous season. This decision to replace Erin with Savanna befuddles me. A majority of the quiz team returns, so I say this is close enough to be considered the same quiz team. True, 2 members of the 2016 Calvary Mounmuent quiz team end up on the 2017 Calvary Monument team, but they are the bottom 2 of both teams, whereas the 2 Bowmansville 2 teams have 3 quizzers return, 2 of which are the their top 2 quizzers on both teams (ironically, in different order). Therefore, again, Bowmansville has the tiebreaker over Calvary Monument. Indeed, the 2014 Bowmansville 2 quiz team is the Best ACC/AMEC Bible Quizzing Quiz Team (of the 21st century).
Top 4 Quiz Teams To Only Win Only 1 Championship (arguably no. 7 - no. 10 Best Quiz Team)?
1) 2015 Bowmansville 2, 2) 2023 Rockville, 3) 2007 Slate Hill 1, 4) 2002 Paradise 2
(All these quiz teams were at least the top 2 in the season, top 4 in the local tournament and top 4 in the Invitational tournament)
Best Quiz Team to Never Win Any Championships (but definitely not no. 11 on this list)?
2025 Blainsport 3
(Talk about always the bridesmaid and never the bride - 2nd place in season, AMEC Tournament and Invitational tournament!)
