Academic Superbowl team is preparing for the state competition on May 5. With two rounds of invitational competition under their belt, and the upcoming regional competition on April 17, the five subject squads and their respective captains feel well prepared for the final challenge.

“I think the first one we did pretty well. The second one was okay. We generally got first and second in the second one. What we need to focus on, really, is that no matter who is up there competing, they need to make sure that they have all their bases covered, and that they have an expertise in each of those little subsets of information,” Nicholas “Nick” Muller, captain of the social studies squad and senior, said.

Though the subject squads generally placed lower in the second round of competition, both Dillon and Jeff Hou, captain of the math squad and senior, agreed that the two invitational rounds highlighted some holes in their team’s collective information. According to Hou, many of the questions used in the regional competition were a great deal more difficult than in the local competitions.

“The questions were of a much higher level this time. We did not see the same score that we did the first time, which is very normal. As we get closer and closer to the regionals, the questions get a lot more specific and a lot harder,” Dillon said.

The five teams will compete individually at regionals in an attempt to make it to the state competition. According to Dillon, it is up in the air as to how many teams should be expected to go.

“I could have all five go; I could have none of the subjects go. I could have any combination of teams, but we just have to wait and see. You only compete for the times that you qualified in. So, it could be a very short day, or it could be a long day. Either way, I’m in to the very end,” Dillon said.