Undefeated minds

Nodaway Valley’s brain bowl team didn’t just win some of the meets it entered this season — it won all of them.

The Wolverines capped their undefeated run at an invitational at Central Decatur High School recently.

In Leon, Nodaway Valley outlasted teams from Murray, Chariton, Mount Ayr and Southeast Warren in pool play, with its only loss coming to Bedford. The Wolverines rebounded to defeat Albia, Bedford and Chariton in the afternoon bracket to claim the championship.

The newspaper spoke last week with senior Caroline Britten and juniors Erik Jensen and Luke Kading.

“I would say we’re all really pleased with how the brain bowl season went. We had a lot of success — not only in your traditional buzzer format competition, but also in the roundtable competition,” Britten said.

The buzzer format resembles a game show, with teams racing to answer questions first. An incorrect response allows the opposing team a chance to steal.

The roundtable format is more similar to a written test, with teams given 10 minutes to answer a set of 30 questions.

“In roundtable, you have this packet with questions. You sit down with a sheet and write your answer down, compared to buzzing in,” Jensen said. “You can sit down, answer the question with your team, compared to individual knowledge, and you can work together a bit more.”

Kading said the program’s success is something the team hopes to build on.

“I’m aiming to be undefeated next season too,” Kading said. “It’s a lot of fun to be a part of this. I like the competition and it feels good to win.”

Nodaway Valley competed in five meets this season. The team is coached by Sarah Jensen. Team members are Paul Kading, Luke Kading, Erik Jensen, Britten, Michidel Mercado, Paiton Ward, Dominic Breheny and Cherubim Mercado.