Members of the victorious Glenmuir School Challenge Quiz team in a jubilant mood after beating powerhouse Kingston College 40-36 to reach the finals of the competition.
GLENMUIR High will meet Calabar High in the finals of TVJ's Schools Challenge Quiz 2001 next Wednesday.
The Clarendon school earn the right to the final when the stopped Kingston College beating them 40 - 36 on Tuesday.
Up until the last minute many were optimistic that KC would be the team advancing to the finals, but as the Glenmuir coach Oneil Dunn told THE STAR: "Nothing less than a victory," would have been accepted by his school."
Howard McCalla, captain of Glenmuir said even at school some students believed they would not stand a chance against KC. "We got a lot of negative feedback before this match, but we were prepared and we prayed about it so I knew we could win," he said.
It was one of the closest matches since the quarter final round of the competition.
At the end of the first segment Glenmuir had the lead with 14 points to KC's 11. During the speed section however KC rallied to take the lead ending that segment KC 34, Glenmuir 32.
In the buzzer section both teams gained and lost points rapidly. And it was a relief when the bell sounded signalling the end of the match.
Glenmuir's supporters hugged each other and cheered while they tried to rush towards team members, Tristan Thompson, Daveien Morrison, Carlinton Burrell, and captian Howard McCalla.
Members of the winning team hugged each other and bent their heads in prayer.
"We knew you could do it' and "yes that's our captain" were some of the sentiments echoed by the supporters.
Dunn, the team's coach told THE STAR that at least 60 per cent of the day was given to preparing the team for the match. "Being a top seeded team going up against another top seeded team I thought our chance was 50-50," he said.
The team members said they realised that they cannot get complacent and they need to be prepared to go up against Calabar in the finals to be held at the Pegasus Hotel next Wednesday.
