Team from Buffalo Grove school wins national quiz bowl tournament

An academic team from Aptakisic Junior High School in Buffalo Grove won the championship title at a national quiz bowl tournament over the weekend in Dallas.

The group was among 160 teams from schools in 23 states competing in the seventh annual Middle School National Championship Tournament, hosted by the National Academic Quiz Tournaments, according to a news release.

In their first nationals appearance, Aptakisic students made it to the championship game, where they beat a team from Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota

"They never quit," coach Barry Love said in a statement. "They (all) showed great resiliency today."

Eighth-grader Arjun Nageswaran, the Aptakisic team's captain, was honored as an all-star for correctly answering 71 tossup questions in the preliminary rounds, tournament officials said. The other three team members were eighth-graders Daniel Ding, David Lee and Ram Potham.

During the quiz bowl, middle school students are asked curriculum-based questions about literature, art, science, math and history. Questions also cover current events, sports, music and popular culture.

Aptakisic qualified for the playoffs with a 6-2 record in the preliminary rounds of the tournament. The team played 17 games, including three against other Illinois schools.