Photo Courtesy of Tyler Friedman
On Saturday October 13, the Academic Challenge team traveled to Irvington High School to participate in an M.A.C.C. meet against other schools in Westchester. Briarcliff sent three teams to the event to compete.
The team of Tong Li, Tyler Friedman, and Mark Moretto scored the most points of any team in the tournament and won first place in the B division, which effectively clinched the team a spot at nationals. Out of 72 total participants, junior Tong Li scored 600 points, the highest individual score; Tyler Friedman and Mark Moretto scored 7th and 11thmost, respectively. “It was great for the team and everyone who participated succeeded, which really made my day,” Tong remarks.
As they did last year, the Academic Challenge team qualified for nationals with this victory. They will travel to New Orleans in May to compete against teams from around the country. The team certainly has high hopes for this year. According to Tong, “Our sophomores are great, and we have a bunch of freshmen who look like they could step up and do well in the future.” The members’ confidence has reached the coach as well. Says coach Desmond Groarke, “This year, with their maturity and experience, the Briarcliff team will be seriously competitive. Especially in the small-schools division, we will perform at the highest level.”
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