Members of the winning Kingston College team (from left) George Scarlett (Captain), Michael Buckland, Conrad Perry, and Omar Morris. - Winston Sill
KINGSTON College (KC) became the last qualifiers for the quarter-final round of the TVJ Schools' Challenge Quiz competition when they defeated Wolmer's Girls 55-29 on Thursday night.
The match which closed out the second round of the competition started off at a fast pace. The atmosphere was tense and it could be seen that a close match was expected. However KC made it a one-sided affair.
Wolmer's Girls inability to answer the early questions thrown at them and KC's confidence led the latter school storm out ahead to a 6-0 lead. In fact, Wolmer's Girls did not get off the mark until the tenth question thrown at them a music question.
Something seemed to have ignited deep within the girls from Marescaux Road as they correctly answered their next two questions. But before that section ended they returned to their previous mode. When the section ended KC led 12-5.
Brian Thompson, coach of Wolmer's Girls, gave an assessment of his team's performance after the match.
"It might just have been one of those moments when you play a team like KC and you are a bit off and it takes you some time to get back in the match. It was a wonderful experience for the girls and I think they have learnt a lot from it. We will be back next year though."
The second section of the match had seen Wolmer's improving their performance but KC still stretched their lead. KC showed they were hungry for the win and stamped their class. After the first minute they amassed nine points from 12 questions and at the end of the section they had 25 points out of the 35 questions. The score at the end of the section - KC 37, Wolmer's Girls 16.
When the third section began, the scores were adjusted and Wolmer's Girls received an additional point for a question that had been previously judged incorrect. Wolmer's Girls continued their fight and sought to close the gap in the scores but their hopes of winning seemed dim.
Now 20 points behind they needed a miracle to clinch victory. That miracle never came and despite Wolmer's valiant effort, KC stormed to victory.
KC's coach, Juliet Wilson, said they were confident entering this match.
"The feeling coming into this match was one of confidence. The boys were very focused for this match. We will have to re-evaluate strategies and decide how to approach our next match," she said.
The next match will see Manchester High going up against Calabar High in the first match of the Quarter-finals.
