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New Orleans Preliminary round results.
New Orleans single elimination round results.
Washington Preliminary round results.
Washington single elimination round results.
Chicago Preliminary round results.
Chicago single elimination round results.
Team rankings, listed alphabetically by school name.
New Orleans Phase
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The Field
Eight of the eighteen teams made the playoffs: three from Arkansas, two from Louisiana, one apiece from Alabama, Texas, and Georgia. Both Louisiana teams - St. Mary's Nativity Elementary School and New Orleans Jesuit - advanced to the final four, but were narrowly defeated in the semifinals. Three of them - St. Mary's Nativity, Plano Rice (TX), and Nashville (AR) had participated in 2009 Junior Nationals.
The Finals
Altamont opened up a 90-40 lead over Nashville by the end of the Warm-Up Round. On the second bonus-round tossup, Altamont recognized Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Snowflakes" from The Nutcracker from an audio clue, and picked up 30 points on the ensuing SCIENCE bonus. Nashville grabbed three of the five bonus opportunities, but were unable to add many bonus points. By halftime, Altamont had extended its lead, 155-95. That gave Nashville first choice in the Sixty Seconds Round. They opted for FOURSOMES, and added 70 points to Altamont's 30. Altamont went for CHRISTMAS SONGS, but had to settle for a 20-20 split. Nashville thereby cut Altamont's lead to 205-185. The championship game would be decided in "Stump the Experts"! Altamont got the first question, a visual showing a Zeiss unit under the dome of a planetarium. They added another 20, identifying Calvin Coolidge after six clues. Nashville then answered a question about Ford's pardon of Nixon. They recognized the Hawaiian tune "Aloha Oe" after an audio clue. They identified The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from this quotation: "We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft." Sixty unanswered points, tying the game at 245! Altamont re-took the lead, identifying the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Nashville tied it up again after answering a question about the spruce tree. They took the lead for the first time in the game after a question about Internet domain names. Altamont knew Alexander Hamilton was America's first Secretary of the Treasury, and the game was tied yet again. Nashville grabbed the lead again, identifying Ehud, Samuel, Deborah, Gideon, and Samson as Judges. Altamont named Toxicology as the forensic science dealing with the detection of poisons. A 305-305 tie late in the contest! Nashville led yet again after a question about Les Miserables. The game went down to the last question. By naming "drug trafficking" as the crime that prompted the U.S. to invade Panama and capture Manuel Noriega, Nashville won the game by a final score of 345-305.
MVP
Nashville's Jonathon Lance was named New Orleans MVP.
Washington Phase
“Are your students as smart as Jonathan Leidenheimer?” read a promotional piece we sent out last Fall, challenging schools to send their teams to Junior Nationals. The answer is: “No.” Now: the self-effacing Jon was quick to point out, after their repeat as champions, that his teammates made contributions and, to be sure, Carrie Murton, Nadege Aoki, Timo Sheridan, and Hannah Po indeed added points to the Longfellow scoring fest. In the end, it was clear that Jon Leidenheimer led the way, answering questions that would challenge some of the best high school teams.
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Why is Longfellow so good? Well, why was Franz Josef Haydn so good? “There was nobody about me – I was forced to become original,” said the Austrian composer. With no other middle school teams around, Longfellow was forced to play in high school tournaments throughout the school year – or not play at all. And they finished astoundingly high in some of these competitions. They are perennially No. 1 in Academic Hallmarks’ Knowledge Master Open.
The Field
Fully half of the 22 teams made the playoffs with records of 4-2 or better – the highest percentage ever in any National Academic Championship. Longfellow B made the playoffs again. Manheim Township A & B (PA) qualified. No surprise: Kentucky, with more middle school teams than any other state, saw Campbell County and Johnson County make the playoffs again, along with rookie schools Pikeville and Belfry. Oologah (OK) made the playoffs as they did last year. And the first Utah school ever to participate at Nationals – Grand County from Moab, UT – entered the playoffs with a nifty 5-1 record and a No. 5 seed.
The Tournament’s Most Exciting Game
Nobody got close to Longfellow A in the prelims or the playoffs. Setting the alltime record for lead changes in the 3-year history of JNAC was the game between Manheim Township B and Warren Middle School (NJ). The multiple lead-changes started right in the first period, after which Manheim Township led 60-50. The Pennsylvania team quickly increased that margin to 70 points after sweeping the bonus about Japan's closest neighbors. Warren recognized “Here Comes the Sun” from an audio clip, then gained a 30-20 split on the Math bonus. They were quickly back in the game after adding 30 points on a Science bonus, and trailed 130-145 at halftime. Warren chose HISTORY in 60 Seconds, gaining a 70-10 advantage. Manheim Township picked WORDS, resulting in a 50-10 gain. Warren led 210-205 going into Stump the Experts. Warren identified Lake Baikal as Earth's oldest and deepest lake. Manheim Township named Hemingway as author of the story “The Undefeated.” They took back the lead after identifying Sherlock Holmes from a quotation. They added 20 after a successful ballistics calculation. Warren translated the name of Bolivia’s capital La Paz (“The Peace”). Manheim Township got a Picasso question. Warren got a Middle Eastern Geography question. They moved back into the lead on a question about the abdication of Kaiser Wilhlem II. They identified Louis Pasteur as the scientist who used the swan-necked flask to disprove the theory of spontaneous generation. Manheim Township added points on a question about the first divorce of Henry VIII. They trailed 325-330 going into the last question of the game: “The B-17 bomber had a defensive armament of 13 heavy-caliber machine guns, giving it what nickname?” Warren buzzed. “Flying Fortress.” Right! Warren won it 350-325, led by the buzzer of Albert Zheng.
Other notable close games in the playoffs: Oologah defeated Longfellow B, 430-385. Oologah was in turn overcome by Manheim Township A, 380-320 in the Final Four. Longfellow A’s winning margins in their first two playoff games were astonishing: 620-160 and 605-190, respectively, in the only 600-point performances in JNAC history.
(l to r) Andy Butler, Campbell Fitzhugh, Coach Charlton Wolfgang, Neil May, Matthew Allan.
In the finals, Manheim Township actually won the first period, the “Warm-Up Round.” Their fortunes changes in the bonus round. On their first try, Longfellow swept a visual bonus, with answers of Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Salvador Dali, and Edvard Munch. On their last bonus opportunity, they swept the Shakespeare category, in which they were given quotations and asked to identify the character speaking, including the 20-pointer, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Ans. Marcellus) In “Stump the Experts,” Longfellow set an alltime record with correct answers on the first seven questions – 140 unanswered points. Longfellow knows Americana (answering “Japanese cherry tree”). Longfellow knows Historical Geography (identifying the Balkan Peninsula as the “Tinderbox of Europe”). Longfellow knows U.S. History (naming U.S. Grant after listening to a quotation from his Memoirs). Longfellow knows Literature (identifying To Kill a Mockingbird after listening to a quotation). Longfellow knows Classical Music (recognizing Beethoven’s “Turkish March” from The Ruins of Athens). Longfellow knows Vocabulary (translating the verbosity “It is fruitless to endure lacrimation over precipitately departed lacteal fluid” into a common proverb, “Don't cry over spilled milk.”). Longfellow knows U.S. Government (naming John Adams as the founding father who appointed John Marshall as Chief Justice). Manheim Township came back with five correct answers in a row on Math, Architecture, Chemistry, Bible, and Civil Rights questions. Longfellow answered with three in a row on Medieval Europe, Astronomy, and Finance. Manheim Township finished with enough points to win most games – 300. But Longfellow accumulated 555.
(l to r) Carrie Murton, Timo Sheridan, Jonathan Leidenheimer, Coach Eugene Huang, Nadège Aoki, Hannah Pho
MVP
Longfellow’s graduating middle schooler, Jonathan Leidenheimer, was named MVP for the second year in a row. His exploits, leading his team to back-to-back titles have made this good-natured lad the first inductee into the Junior National Academic Championship Hall of Fame.
Chicago Phase
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The Field
Half of the sixteen teams made the playoffs. Five of them were schools returning from last year: Danville Bate (KY), which had won it all in our inaugural tournament, 2008; Hawken (OH), No. 3 in the nation last year; Ft. Smith Trinity (AR), Holy Name (KY), and Hopkins West (MN). Rookies were LaGrange (GA), Chelsea (OK), and Des Moines Christian (IA).
Some very close games in the Quarterfinals: Hawken 365, Danville Bate 310; LaGrange 295, Trinity 290; Des Moines Christian 315, Hopkins West 300.
Hawken’s path in the playoffs was a virtual repeat of last year: with a 2-2 prelim record, in two must-win situations, they came through, entering the playoffs by the skin of their teeth – and then catching fire in the playoffs. Their Semifinal game with LaGrange was a dandy, as they withstood a late scoring binge by the Georgia team, to win it, 345-325.
The Finals
Holy Name led Hawken, 80-40, after the first quarter of the championship match. Neither team really took charge of the Bonus Round, but the Kentucky Catholic school extended its lead, 145-85. Hawken selected NATIONS in “60 Seconds,” with a 70-0 result. Holy Name chose ARTISTS, and Captain Tara needed no assistance in getting 9 of the 10 right. Going into the final round, Holy Name led 235-155. They promptly got the first two right in “Stump the Experts,” with answers of Kenya and Iwo Jima, giving them a 100-point lead they were not to relinquish. Holy Name won the title match by a score of 355-275.
MVP
Holy Name’s Tara Prasad was named Chicago MVP.
Junior Nationals Hall of Fame
Jonathan Leidenheimer, Longfellow Middle School (VA), 2009-2010
WINNERS OF OUR 3 TOURNAMENTS
2008 – Bate Middle School (Danville, KY)
2009 – Longfellow Middle School (Falls Church,VA)
2010 – Longfellow Middle School (Falls Church,VA)
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