JERRY CITY — Bowling Green Christian Academy came within two questions of not only beating the No. 1
ranked team, but taking down the No. 2 ranked team in the Northwest Ohio Quiz Bowl League Tournament for
seventh- and eighth-graders.
BGCA, which entered Monday’s tournament in a three-way tie for fifth place with a 3-5 season record,
shocked the league-leading — and unbeaten — Eastwood team, 74-52, to advance to the championship round
against Otsego.
They then challenged Otsego before losing 70-62.
Even Otsego coach Fritz Wolfram was surprised to be facing BGCA, having predicted it would be an
Otsego-Eastwood rematch from two years ago.
He has four eighth-graders on the team who, as sixth-graders, beat Eastwood in the 2015 elementary
tournament.
“They really wanted to repeat that,” he said.
Eastwood handed Otsego its only loss of the season, 106-38.
Wolfram figures in his 29 years as coach, his teams have won the title 10 times.
“It’s better every time,” he said.
Otsego’s Abby Gase couldn’t decide which was better, beating Eastwood two years ago or winning Monday.

“They’re both great,” she said.
She said the team would practice twice a week, and while the questions were new this year she didn’t
think they were more difficult.
But she admitted thinking “that makes no sense” on some of the questions.
“We were overjoyed when we found out the (Eastwood) score,” said teammate Sam Lee. Still, he praised the
Eastwood team, saying “they are quick on the buzzer.”
“I’m so proud of them,” said BGCA Coach Sue Larimer. “Not in a heartbeat” was how she described how she
felt her team’s chance was at making it to the championship round.
“Surprising,” was how BGCA eighth-grader Matthew Fyfe described getting to the finals.
“It was close,” he said after the match. “I think we had a chance to bring home some hardware.”
“I thought we might lose in the first or second round,” admitted BGCA’s Coltyn Meisner. “It’s exciting
getting second.”
In fact, many on the team were planning how quick they could get out of the tournament to head to Dairy
Queen.
Otsego knew that it was the live TV version of the musical “Grease” in which Carly Rae Jepsen played
Frenchie of the Pink Ladies.
BGCA knew that when the summer solstice happens in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted 23
degrees toward the sun.
Neither team knew that when a football referee folds his arms, it means a delay of game penalty; or that
it was Merrick Garland who was appointed by President Obama in 2016 to serve as an Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia.
Fyfe summed up the day: “We did something no other team did. We beat Eastwood.”
“It was a surprise,” said Kari Hildreth, coach at Eastwood, about her team’s loss to BGCA. “It was an
incredibly strong match. It just sprung in their favor.
“We played strong and they played stronger,” she said in praise of the BGCA team.
“Matthew (Fyfe) is a phenomenal young man. I give him and his teammates all the credit in the world.”
Fyfe led his team as high scorer all season.
“We’ll learn from this and come back next year stronger.”
“It was an exciting afternoon. That is great for quiz bowl,” said Katie Smith, Elmwood coach and
tournament organizer.
In the first round, Eastwood beat Gibsonburg 82-18; BGCA beat Elmwood 64-38; Otsego beat North Baltimore
90-24; and Woodmore beat Lake 78-50.
Otsego was challenged in the second round when the team faced Woodmore. The score was tied at 26 at the
end of the second round. Otsego outscored Woodmore by four points to win 74-70.
His team was down by eight with a minute to go, Wolfram said, but got the last three questions correct,
the last one with three seconds on the clock.
Otsego eighth-grader Gase won the Lynette Butler award for her contributions to quiz bowl.
Team members are nominated by their coaches.
“She built others up,” said Smith about Butler, who played on the BGCA team until her death.
Her mother, Deb, attended to present the award.
“She has a constant smile and an upbeat personality,” Fritz said about Gase.
Other members of the Otsego team include Christian Scott, Erika Putnam, Ethan Lennox, Donovan Ellis,
Spencer Adams and Sam Eggington.
Members of the BGCA team included Anna Fyfe, Sam Atkinson, Stella Ferris and Carrina Wiseman.