TROY — Quiz bowl teams from Troy High School and International Academy East recently competed in the 2025 High School National Championship Tournament at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Hilton Atlanta.

For quiz bowl, teams of four compete to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports and popular culture.

“The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in all subject areas,” a press release National Academic Quiz Tournaments (NAQT) states. “Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.”

NAQT, founded in 1996, organizes the premier middle school, high school and college quiz bowl championships in North America. Their 2025 High School National Championship Tournament featured 336 teams from 37 states, the District of Columbia and Guatemala. Nineteen of the competing teams came from Michigan.

Troy High School’s team consists of Arin Barman, Samik Barman, Himank Bhat, Cole Cambell, Mithesh Raja Govindaraja and Pratyush Neelakantan. The team was coached by Lisa Cova.

This team finished the preliminary rounds with a 3-7 record, though they lost to a team from Burnsville, Minnesota. The loss ended their shot at the playoffs.

Troy High School proudly acknowledges the participation of six outstanding students . . . at the National Academic Quiz Bowl Tournament (NAQT) held in Atlanta,” Cova stated in an email. “These students represented Troy High School with distinction, demonstrating exceptional academic ability and teamwork throughout the competition. Although the final standings did not fully reflect the depth of their knowledge or the rigor of their preparation, the experience served as a valuable opportunity for personal and intellectual growth. Their dedication to the THS Quiz Bowl program is commendable and sets a strong foundation for future success.”

International Academy East also finished the preliminary rounds with a 3-7 record, though they lost to the Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences from Tennessee.

Their team consisted of Aryan Khedkar, Sesha Sai Aasrith Modem, Sameer Pai, Nidheesh Suresh, Zhedong Zhao, and Raghav Karur as captain. The team was coached by Toby Klein, Amanda McSween and Natalie Selweski.

“Being able to represent International Academy East at the HSNCT national competition in Atlanta was an unforgettable experience,” Karur said in an email. “As captain of our Quiz Bowl team, I’m proud of our team’s incredible dedication, collaboration, and efforts these past months. Finishing in the top 300 nationally really showed that we can compete with the best in the country. We’re excited to build on this momentum next season and will continue proudly representing our school and city!”

The tournament champion was the A team from Livingston High School in Livingston, New Jersey.

For more information, visit troy.k12.mi.us or naqt.com.