Butler Area students win regional trivia competition
Butler Area School District senior Charles Simms and juniors David Krainbucher and Max Channells won the KDKA Hometown High Q competition on the taping day May 17.
Stephanie Peters, the gifted program coordinator and Hometown High Q coordinator for Butler Senior High School, said the team beat out Hempfield Area High School and Winchester Thurston School by a narrow margin.
“The first three rounds, we were tied with Hempfield, and it came down to the final round,” Peters said. “In the final round, our kids won by getting all 10 of the quick round questions right — and they had a couple seconds to spare.”
Hometown High Q is a trivia competition hosted by KDKA, in which teams of three students from 81 Pittsburgh-area high schools compete by answering a variety of questions in a bracket that pits three teams against each other at a time. For earning first place in the tournament, fraternal benefit society GBU Life has awarded the school with a $4,000 prize.
The Butler team won out in each of the first three competitions, which Peters said was the best win record the school had ever had to that point. She chalked up the team’s success to the three students’ diligence and enjoyment in learning.
“I think this team more than any other has naturally inquisitive readers,” Peters said. “They enjoy learning new things, finding information. They have been so motivated with that individual self-learning.”
The third round of the competition will air on KDKA at 11 a.m. June 3, and Peters said the final round may air on June 24. According to Peters, the students on the team have been appreciative of the support they have gotten not only throughout the tournament.
“We've had great support for all the kids,” Peters said. “The kids have said several times that they are thankful for all their teachers they've had over the years.”
