North Schuylkill High School wins Academic Competition
The highest scorer in the preliminary rounds of questioning, North Schuylkill outpaced the teams from Pine Grove High School and Blue Mountain High School to win the championship.
The final scores were North Schuylkill, 95; Pine Grove, 75 and Blue Mountain, 70.
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The North Schuylkill team claimed first place during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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North Schuylkill student Fabrizio Manganiello kneels to receive a gold medal from coach Joseph Wyatt during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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The North Schuylkill team claimed first place during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Pine Grove, last year's champion, finished first in league competition among 13 public, parochial and charter schools that preceded the competition.
As champion, North Schuylkill will represent the county in the Pennsylvania Academic State Competition on May 2 in Harrisburg.
'Wow,' coach Joseph P. Wyatt said after North Schuylkill's win. 'Our school has not been in a state competition in 19 years.'
'Our team was well rounded,' said Wyatt, who's taught history at North Schuylkill for 24 years. 'Our students backed up one another.'
The team — Fabrizio Manganiello, Christopher Dambrosia, Joseph Campbell and Garrett Ratkiewicz — had been together for a long time, Wyatt said. 'And the fact that they were all friends contributed greatly to their success,' said Wyatt, who coached the team with Justin Sharp.
Coached by Gerald Salen, Pine Grove's final four contestants were Catherine Primeau, Jackson Ludwig, Shane Hall and Dustin Williams.
Blue Mountain was represented by Bill Mills, Connor Barry, Megan Bassinisky and Liam Dreher. Steve Zimmerman coached the team.
From left, North Schuylkill, Pine Grove and Blue Mountain compete in the finals during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29 sponsored the competition that drew 10 public schools, Nativity and Marian Catholic and Gillingham Charter School.
The top nine scoring schools competed in the semi-finals. In order of finish, they are: North Schuylkill, Pine Grove, Blue Mountain, Nativity, Pottsville, Tamaqua, Marian, Tri-Valley and Minersville.
Paired off in threes, the semi-finalists competed in simultaneous competitions to decide the three finalists.
Annie Milewski, IU-29 director of curriculum and instruction, said the questions were compiled by National Academic Quiz Tournaments, an organization that prepares questions for high school and college academic competitions.
Questions ran the gamut of science, technology, history, literature and entertainment.
Panelists in one of the semi-final rounds were unaware the Meriam Webster's 2024 word of the year was 'polarization.' Another troublesome question was 'What insect do scientists want to put on the threatened species list? A: the monarch butterfly.
Wires lead to the students' buzzers during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
One of the stumpers in the finals between North Schuylkill, Pine Grove and Blue Mountain highlighted a generation gap — What 1950s sitcom featured a boy nicknamed for a rodent? A: Leave It To Beaver.'
The finalists aced the final Fanfare round of six questions, each worth five points. They knew that Pres. Trump had renamed the Gulf of Mexico, that Pres. Gerald Ford pardoned Pres. Richard Nixon, that the Richter scale measures magnitude of earthquakes and that the Minions first appeared in 'Despicable Me.'
Educators who read the questions were: Chuck Grabusky, Sammantha Nelson, Sean James, Ed Andrescavage and Barb Wilkinson. IU-29 staffers Theresa Kozura and Michelle Stone assisted in organizing the event.
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Nativity students discuss a question during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Shenandoah Valley students react to a difficult question during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Pottsville students finalize an answer during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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A student holds up a buzzer ready to press it as a question is read aloud during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Pine Grove student Catherine Primeau writes down an answer during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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North Schuylkill students reveal their answer during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Students discuss their answers to a question during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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Nativity students discuss a question during the annual Schuylkill County Academic Competition at Penn State Schuylkill, Monday, March 10, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
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