Three teams from OHS participated in the first annual National History Bowl and History Bee State qualifier for Missouri on Sat. Jan. 9, at Desmet High School. Out of these three teams that participated one team won the History Bowl and another team also qualified for the National History Bowl that will be held in Washington D.C. on April 17.

The OHS team that won the tournament consisted of Tim Cliffe (11), Brandon Daake (11), Micheal Wiethop (11) and Nick Popielewski (10). This team qualified for the playoffs and then easily beat teams from Webster Groves, DeSmet, and Ladue.

The following team that qualified for National History Bowl made it into the playoffs, but unfortunately fell to a St. Louis University High team. This team consisted of Tony Barbieri (12), Justin Bayer (12), Molly Kostecki (12), Ryan Moyie (12), Mark Richter (12) and Nick Street (12).

At the History Bee qualifying tournament, Wiethop placed second overall during the preliminary rounds. At the finals, Wiethop managed to qualify in the top five. With his success he won’t only be participating in the National History Bowl, but also the National History Bee in Washington D.C.

“I was very excited and happy for the students,” History Bowl sponsor Rodney Gerdes said.