[Note:  High-res images of the top two teams are attached and accompanying captions appear at the bottom of this release.]

Battle of Brains Carried Live Statewide Today on UNC-TV
WILMINGTON'S J.T. HOGGARD HIGH SCHOOL WINS
2006 PUBLIC LIBRARY QUIZ BOWL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Defeats Runner-Up Northwood High School of Pittsboro

After the last question in North Carolina's 2006 Public Library Quiz Bowl State Championship, a mere five points separated the state's top two quiz bowl teams. Despite answering that last question correctly, Pittsboro's Northwood High School still couldn't overcome a determined team from J.T. Hoggard High School of Wilmington. Hoggard defeated Northwood 135 to 130 for the 2006 Public Library Quiz Bowl State Championship. The rapid-fire finals aired live statewide Saturday afternoon from the Research Triangle Park studios of UNC-TV.

Coached by Alicia Lewis, members of J.T. Hoggard High School's championship team included Purav Bhatt, Vikram Dashputre, Rahul Patel, and Matt Spaulding. Other participating team members included Matthew Burns, Sophie Liu, and Amanda Lu. Connie Chen was also listed as a team member, but did not participate in the televised contest. The New Hanover County Library was the sponsoring library.

Members of the runner-up team from Northwood High School in Greenville consisted of Siler Bryan, Mariana Poole, Mike Raymond and Hannah Yerby. Other participating team members included Ray Antonelli, Chris Minor and Raven Riley. Jennifer Henkle was also listed as a team member, but did not participate in the televised contest. Neal Morgan, Bhuvana Ramachandran and Nick Winstead coached the team and the Central North Carolina Regional Library System was the sponsoring library.

In today's exciting match, friends and family filled the Goodmon Studio at UNC-TV to support their favorite teams. Tireless preparation, intense after-school practice, mental agility, coolness under pressure and a gift for scholastics are the hallmarks of the quiz bowl participant. In between the live, action-packed competitive rounds, UNC-TV's host Deborah Holt provided match wrap-ups and introduced video profiles of each team and school. This year's panel of judges included John C. Brim, of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction; Daniel P. Gottlieb, of the North Carolina Museum of Art; and Katherine Didow, of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Lisa Neal of Davie County Public Library functioned as the Public Library Quiz Bowl State Championship authority.

After a stunning first-round elimination in last year's match, Wilmington's J.T. Hoggard High School bounced back with a vengeance this year, trouncing the team from South Central High School in the first of the single elimination contests by a score of 190 to 20. Like South Central, Louisburg High School appeared in its first quiz bowl championship and, again like South Central, was not able to outlast its challenger. After a close match, Brevard pulled ahead and defeated Louisburg 135 to 75. In other first round action, Pittsboro's Northwood High School emerged victorious over Weddington High School of Matthews by a score of 265 to 80. The final first round contest featured two returning teams from last year, Currituck High School of Barco and Morganton's Freedom High School. After a slow start, Currituck battled back but its efforts were not enough to catch up with the consistent correct answers provided by the winning Freedom team. The final score in that match 180 to 150.

In semi-final action, Hoggard and Brevard ran neck-in-neck, with Hoggard pulling out a 10-point victory during the final question of the match and defeating Brevard 155 to 145. In the other semi-final round, Freedom started strong, but Northwood steamed back and sealed the win with a score of 220 to 135.

Experience appeared to count as the 2006 Public Library Quiz Bowl State Championship final featured two returning schools from last year, Hoggard and Northwood. Both teams held their own in the early 10-point portion of the finals, the end of which found the score tied at 20 all. Northwood steamed ahead in the 20-point round, leading by as many as  points. Shortly after Hoggard pulled ahead, the panel of judges and championship authority took nearly five minutes to consider and ultimately deny a Northwood challenge to a Hoggard answer, allowing Hoggard to keep its 20-points in question. Going into the final 30-point round found Hoggard leading Northwood by a score of 90 to 70. The earlier challenge seemed to diminish the momentum of both teams as neither team was able to answer the first three questions of the 30-point round. The teams got back on track and Northwood's best efforts could not overcome its deficit as Hoggard emerged victorious by a final score of 135 to 130.

Upon moderator George Luke's announcement of the final score, the studio audience cheered for both top teams. Judges presented trophies to the Northwood and Hoggard teams as team members and coaches expressed appreciation to the schools, supporters, regional libraries, state libraries and UNC-TV. In a show of respect reminiscent of high school athletic championships, the winning Hoggard shook hands with each member of the Northwood team before celebrating its victory.

This year's contenders for the 2006 Public Library Quiz Bowl State Championship included:

• Brevard High School-Brevard
  Coach: Jane Fuller; Sponsoring Library: Transylvania County Library
• Currituck County High School-Barco
  Coaches: Mary Simmons & Sylvia Kirk; Sponsoring Library: East Albemarle Regional Library System
• Freedom High School-Morganton
  Coach: Dr. L.B. Smith; Sponsoring Library: Burke County Public Library
• J.T. Hoggard High School-Wilmington
  Coach: Alicia M. Lewis; Sponsoring Library: New Hanover County Library
• Louisburg High School-Louisburg
  Coaches: Marcy McDonald, Heather Sorby-Firth; Sponsoring Library: Franklin County Public Library
• Northwood High School-Pittsboro
  Coach: Neal Morgan, Bhuvana Ramachandran, Nick Winstead; Sponsoring Library: Central North Carolina Regional Library
• South Central High School-Winterville
  Coach: Alan Pierce; Sponsoring Library: Sheppard Memorial Library
• Weddington High School-Matthews
  Coach: Scotti Youngman; Sponsoring Library: Union County Public Library

The Public Library Quiz Bowl State Championship, jointly produced by UNC-TV, North Carolina Public Libraries, The North Carolina Public Library Directors' Association and the State Library of North Carolina, Department of Cultural Resources, again put the spotlight on our state's academic all-stars. Now celebrating 26 years, the Public Library High School Quiz Bowl State Championship offers academically gifted students the opportunity to enjoy the character-building elements more often associated with athletic programs-cooperation from teamwork, discipline from training, and confidence from competition. The championship brings out the best and brightest high school students from across North Carolina.

With the State Library's Public Library High School Quiz Bowl State Championship sponsorship, the state of North Carolina and the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association provide financial support for the annual competition.~The State Library is an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources. For more information on the Public Library High School Quiz Bowl Championship, contact Jim Rosinia, State Library of North Carolina, 919-733-2570 or jrosinia@library.dcr.state.nc.us.

The Public Library High School Quiz Bowl State Championship is part of UNC-TV's ongoing commitment to producing programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV's 11 stations comprise North Carolina's only statewide television network, made possible through a unique partnership of public investment and private support. UNC-TV is committed to producing and broadcasting programs for and about North Carolina, making it the state's most important source of information about North Carolina.

CAPTIONS FOR ATTACHED IMAGES:

IMAGE #1: 2006Hoggard1.jpg
Wilmington's J.T. Hoggard High School emerged victorious in the 2006 Public Library Quiz Bowl Championship broadcast live statewide on UNC-TV Saturday afternoon. In the exciting state finals, Hoggard defeated the team from Northwood High School of Pittsboro by a final score of 155 to 145. Pictured, left to right: Sophie Liu, Matthew Burns, Matt Spaulding, Rahul Patel, Coach Alicia Lewis, Amanda Lu, Vikram Dashputre, and Purav Bhatt.

IMAGE#2: 2006Northwood2.jpg
Pittsboro's Northwood High School narrowly lost its bid for the 2006 Public Library Quiz Bowl Championship broadcast live statewide on UNC-TV Saturday afternoon. In the exciting state finals, the team from J.T. Hoggard High School Hoggard of Wilmington defeated Northwood by a final score of 155 to 145. Pictured, left to right: Mariana Poole, Mike Raymond, Siler Bryan, Coach Bhuvana Ramachandran, Hannah Yerby, Chris Minor, Coach Neal Morgan, Raven Riley and Ray Antonelli.

-UNC-TV-