The Upper School's Quiz Bowl, Speech, and Debate Teams have continued their successes this year, competing against teams from much larger schools, and demonstrating that SSFS can stand toe-to-toe with top-rated programs! The SSFS Quiz Bowl team has maintained an undefeated record (15-0-0) in the Montgomery Academic Beltway League (MABL), defeating much larger teams from MCPS, and five members of the Speech and Debate Club were named finalists, semifinalists, and quarterfinalists at the George Mason Patriot Games Speech & Debate Invitational. Read below for details!
SSFS Quiz Bowl Continues Undefeated in the MABL
By Eduardo Polón, Quiz Bowl Coach
QUESTION 1: Who is the smallest school by far in the Montgomery Academic Beltway League (MABL)?
ANSWER 1: Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS)
QUESTION 2: At 15-0-0, who sits atop the MABL after Round 5 as the only undefeated team in the conference?
ANSWER 2: Sandy Spring Friends School (SSFS)
With a sweep of its three MABL Round 5 opponents on Thursday, December 12, SSFS extended its undefeated record to 15-0-0 in the Montgomery Academic Beltway League (MABL) and its competitive interscholastic academic season record to an impressive 20-3-0 overall. This included a Main Event Round 5 showdown between the only two undefeated teams in the league: SSFS and Bethesda-Chevy Chase A (B-CC A). To reach this point thus far this season, SSFS has tangled with and toppled MCPS Goliaths the likes of Rockville, Blake, Churchill, Whitman, Wootton, Quince Orchard, Gaithersburg, Springbrook, Blair, Wheaton, Sherwood, Magruder, Paint Branch, and Einstein.
The SSFS Quiz Bowl Team was represented by Captain Diego Zein (‘25), Assistant Captain Justin Carr (’26), Nate Miles (’26), Ian Donahue (‘26), and Steve Kim (‘26), and supported by up-and-coming Quizards Benji Cherukuri, Catherine Risen, and Henry Navikas. Moving forward, MABL Round 6 is scheduled for Thursday, January 16 when SSFS is slated to travel back to Walter Johnson HS for the final regular season round to establish the Top 16 teams and their seedings heading into the Playoffs.
A perennial Top 10 team, and having already qualified this season for the playoffs of both the MABL as well as television’s It’s Academic, SSFS ranks fittingly among the best academic programs in the county and continues to distinguish itself, among other things, as “an ideal setting for intellectual contemplation, diverse extracurricular pursuits, and personal growth.”
Providing camaraderie for kindred spirits while celebrating academic achievement, intrascholastic Quiz Bowl Club and interscholastic Quiz Bowl Team provide healthy venues to foster friendships inspired by a mutual love of learning. Best of all, it's fun! For more information contact Quiz Bowl Coach Eduardo Polón.
George Mason Patriot Games Speech & Debate Invitational
By Scott Carneal, Speech and Debate Team Head Coach
Through 12 grueling hours on both Saturday, December 7, and Sunday, December 8, nine SSFS Speech students competed in 13 events, and two students entered as a single team in Public Forum Debate. We competed against schools from Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York in this top-tier tournament.
SSFS finished in 8th place out of 40 scoring teams (results for speech and debate events).
- Quarterfinalists: Henry Goldblatt (Declamation) & Benji Cherukuri (Impromptu Speaking)
- Semifinalists: Maxine Ross (Original Oratory) & Phoebe Yonkos (Declamation)
- Finalists: Benji Cherukuri (4th place/Declamation) & Cecilia Gang (5th place/Oral Interpretation).
- Other Competitors: Catherine Risen/Nathaniel Freedberg (Debate), Janaan as Siddiqui, Quin Ely, Chloe Jonasdottir, and Diego Zein
Congratulations to the team!