Wisconsin School for the Deaf competed against 17 other teams
The Wisconsin School for the Deaf Academic Bowl team recently reached a historical milestone when the team earned second place out of 18 teams that competed in the Midwest Regional Academic Bowl competition at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf in Faribault, Minn. The WSC team had not qualified for the championships since 2004.
Gallaudet University sponsors four regional competitions annually, with about 80 teams from deaf and hard-of-hearing programs nationwide participating. The top four finishers from each regional advance to the national competition along with four wildcard teams.
Members of the WSD team include: Madison Bongard (4th-year player / senior), Katie McClyman (3rd-year player / junior), Caleb Zapadinsky (2nd-year player / sophomore) and Marissa LaGow (1st-year player / sophomore) and coaches Lucinda Inches and Casey Kelly.
A couple of the team members recently took a moment to share their experiences.
Bongard said she cherished all four years of Academic Bowl but felt this year was the best year yet for the WSD team.
“Our chemistry is unbreakable (especially with our countless inside jokes), and no matter what, we never gave up. Being able to play in the championship game is something that my team and I have always dreamed of doing, so we came, we fought, and we succeeded,” she said.
Bongard said words cannot explain how incredibly proud she is of her team and that she’ll always be grateful for having amazing coaches who prepared the team well, for her extraordinary teammates, and for the opportunities Academic Bowl has provided.
“Out of my four years of playing, I will never forget this team and everything that happened during the 2020 Midwest Academic Bowl Regionals tournament. So, to everyone who made the 2020 Regionals special, thank you,” she said.
Zapadinsky agreed that this year’s team had much better chemistry than last year.
We are much more balanced now as a team and we each are confident in each other and the team,” he said.
Zapadinsky said when they won second place, he felt a lot of pride in the team, himself and for the fans who went to Minnesota to support them.
“We couldn’t win this without the support from our families, our amazing coaches, our community, and from each other,” he said.
“I would like to give many thanks to my wonderful supportive teachers who believe in us, in our amazing ‘one-of-a-kind’ coaches, our families who kept supporting and believing in us, and our fantastic fans who drove 4 1/2 hours to see us complete at Minnesota,” Zapadinsky added.
Kelly, who coached the team along with Inches, said the team put in a lot of time preparing.
“We worked so hard throughout the year studying, practicing and buzzing. It paid off, now we qualified for nationals two years in a row and it was a great feeling when we entered the championship match,” he said.
“Madison got the 4-year medal and Caleb got the All-Star Award. We are also very proud of Katie and Marissa who contributed lots of points as well,” Kelly said, adding that all four players are key to the success of the team.
“They represented our school very well,” he said.
The team also got to meet Roberta (Bobbi) Cordano, president of Gallaudet University.
“She was proud and applauded the team because she has a deep connection with Wisconsin. She, herself, is a native of Delavan,” Kelly said.
Scores in the pool matches were: WSD, 76 vs. Edmonds Woodway, 36; WSD, 53 vs. Hinsdale South, 33; WSD, 69 vs. Nebraska Regional, 33; and WSD, 35 vs. Arkansas School for the Deaf, 5.
Bracket matches went as follows: Round of 16 – WSD, 27 vs. Arkansas School for the Deaf, 9; Quarterfinal – WSD, 29 vs. Michigan School for the Deaf, 22; Semifinal – WSD, 44 vs. Iowa School for the Deaf, 33; Championship – John Hersey, 84 vs. WSD, 34.
