The round-robin format used in the Class 3A Scholars Bowl State Championship ensures each team an opportunity to do something big.
 
Hesston got its chance right off the bat once it qualified for Saturday’s championship pool at Southeast of Saline High School. And the Swathers didn’t blink.
 
Dominated by perennial power Wichita Collegiate in a pair of regional matches on Feb. 5, Hesston knocked off the seven-time defending 3A champion 50-35 and went on to finish 5-0 in the championship round to win its second state scholars bowl title.
 
Hesston followed its upset of the Spartans with victories over Olathe Heritage Christian, Cimarron, Perry-Lecompton and Nemaha Central – none by more than 30 points and two in come-from-behind fashion – to win state for the first time since 2018.
 
The Swathers’ team of senior Glen Birdsell, sophomores Isaac Jelle, Cody Waggoner and Owen Landis, and freshmen Tyler Fast and Gilberto Perini Oliva gave coach Jason Peters a state title in his first season.
 
After going 4-1 to advance through its qualifying pool, Hesston got its springboard victory against Collegiate, which won its other nine tournament matches Saturday by an average of almost 70 points. By fending off the Spartans, Hesston ended Collegiate’s streak of state titles that began with back-to-back Class 4A crowns in 2017 and 2018.
 
“We were fortunate to come up with just enough answers to some tough questions to put us in position to win the match on an interruption on the final question,” said Peters, whose team lost to Collegiate 115-30 and 120-40 to finish second at Collegiate’s home regional. “From that point, we had to work hard to focus on one match at a time. Every one of the other four matches in the finals was a battle.

 
“In two of those rounds, we had to win both of the final two questions to win the match.”
 
Birdsell and Jelle were the lone returnees from Hesston’s team that finished fifth in 3A a year ago. Birdsell was also on a state-qualifying team in 2024.
 
This year’s Swathers were a diverse blend that meshed well, Peters said.
 
“We had a strong team this year because each team member had several categories that they excelled in and together we were able to answer a good number of questions in every category,” Peters said. “Every member of our team is involved in multiple activities outside of scholars bowl, from athletics to music to robotics, which allows them to draw from those experiences to increase their knowledge in multiple areas.”
 
Hesston benefited from good competition throughout the season, winning the Pratt Invitational and finishing second to Pratt at the Central Kansas League meet. The Swathers were also third in their own invitational and fourth at the Moundridge Invitational.
 
After defeating Collegiate on Saturday, the battle-tested Swathers outdueled Heritage Christian 30-10 to avenge their lone qualifying-pool loss. They also edged Perry-Lecompton 40-35 in a match they trailed 40-20 with two questions remaining.
 
“We did a good job of interrupting at appropriate times and worked well together to come up with several answers by piecing information together from multiple team members,” Peters said. “All six of the team members answered at least one question correctly throughout the day, so there was contribution from everyone.”
 

WICHITA EAST AVENGES REGIONAL LOSSES, GOES ON TO WIN IN 6A
 
Turnabout is fair play, and after seeing last year’s Class 6A state champion Manhattan win the regional title earlier this month at Wichita East, East traveled to Manhattan on Saturday and captured its seventh 6A state title and second in three years.
 
The Blue Aces earned the top seed for the four-team championship round, then defeated Mill Valley 60-55 in the semifinals and Olathe Northwest 70-55 for the championship. East’s lone loss came to Olathe North, 80-70, during pool-play qualifying.
 
Gaurish Sridhar, a member of East’s 2024 state championship team in coach Xan Tolbert’s first season, was one of three seniors on this year’s championship team. Sridhar’s classmates, Ben Allen and Rayan Zaman, juniors Elijah Corpus and Eli Fox, and sophomore Robert Moats rounded out the roster.
 
The Aces finished third in their home regional, winning their qualifying pool with a 6-0 record but falling to Manhattan and Wichita Northwest in the championship pool play to finish that session 3-2. East avenged those losses Saturday, defeating Manhattan 70-40 and Northwest 100-20 on its way to the final four.
 
Topeka High finished second in the round-robin qualifying with a 5-2 record, but fell to Olathe Northwest in the semifinals and Mill Valley to finish fourth. Olathe Northwest and Mill Valley were two of four teams that posted 4-3 records in qualifying, moving on to the semifinals after tiebreakers with Manhattan and Olathe North.
 

 ST. JAMES SWEEPS WAY TO FOURTH CLASS 5A TITLE IN 8 YEARS
 
Regardless of its finish at the Class 5A state championship, St. James Academy’s veteran scholars bowl team had produced enough to label the 2025-26 season a success.
 
But the Thunder went out in style, winning all seven of its pool-play qualifying matches before defeating De Soto and last year’s champion Bishop Carroll in the championship bracket to win its fourth state title in eight years on Saturday in Wichita.
 
Junior Ben Thill, a third-year scholars bowl player making his state debut, scored 295 points for St. James in its nine matches to help the regional champion Thunder win its seventh tournament of the season. St. James produced top-four finishes in all 11 tournaments it entered.
 
“In my mind, this is pretty incredible for a squad to be this successful, to be in the top four of every tournament they attended,” said St. James coach Evan Bradfield, who won his second 5A title with the Thunder. “I am blown away by the speed and accuracy of this team, but also their wisdom, camaraderie and love for the game.”
 
Making its 13^th state appearance in the school’s 20-year history, St. James returned four players from last year’s team that finished third at state. Seniors Clara Kueny, Luke Toepfer and Andrew Rickert joined with juniors Andrew Nguyen, George Guetterman and Thill on Saturday to roll up at least 90 points in five of its seven pool-play matches.
 
In the four-team championship bracket, St. James topped De Soto 60-40 in the semifinals before defeating host Carroll 90-30 in the title match. Newton edged De Soto 70-60 for third place.
 
“I find it very fitting that this group of six kids gets to carry home the trophy,” Bradfield said. “They’ve earned it all year long.”
 

EUDORA EDGES BUHLER IN TIEBREAKER FOR THIRD STRAIGHT 4A CROWN
 
Eudora junior Evey Steele correctly translated a world language question, which translated into a third consecutive Class 4A scholars bowl title for the Cardinals.
 
Steele’s timely answer on the fourth tiebreaker query of the championship match gave Eudora a 55-45 victory over Buhler on Saturday in Winfield. Coach Jim Barnard’s team completed its day of ups and downs with a 4A three-peat while denying Buhler its first state title since 2008.
 
Eudora’s final step was a doozy. Buhler, which defeated the Cardinals 50-40 earlier in the day in pool play, answered two of the final three questions in the title match to erase a 20-point deficit and force a tiebreaker.
 
The drama built as neither team could come up with the correct answers to a language arts question and two year in review questions. Then, after Buhler buzzed in with an incorrect submission on the world language question, Steele provided the correct response to extend Eudora’s 4A reign.
 
“Winning state in the manner we won today was amazing,” Barnard said. “To go with the excitement of the final match, everyone on the team contributed today and stepped up in times of need.”
 
Seniors Eugene White and Colton Jenkins finished their careers with multiple state titles – White with three and Jenkins with two. Jenkins led the Cardinals in Saturday’s tournament with 210 points in nine matches, while White added 165.
 
Eudora finished third behind Louisburg and Ottawa at the Chanute regional, but got off to a roaring state start with a 110-20 victory over Louisburg in its pool-play opener. The excitement was soon tempered by the loss to Buhler and a 50-15 loss to McPherson.
 
“I just told them to relax and reset,” Barnard said. “It typically takes four wins in pool play to advance to the finals and we could still do that.”
 
Eudora didn’t lose again, advancing to the four-team championship bracket with a 5-2 record. In the semifinals, the Cardinals defeated Pratt 90-30 to set up their rematch with Buhler.
 
Senior Ben Pierron, sophomore Leah Barnhart and junior alternate Wyatt Boose joined White, Jenkins and Steele in completing the title run for Eudora, which mixed and matched lineups early in the season before honing in on its postseason squad.
 
At state, the Cardinals scored 90 more points than their 2024 championship team and 130 points more than last year title winners.
 
“This win was a special one for me and the team,” Barnard said. “It comes after a season that began in September with practices, many tournaments and an uncountable number of hours spent in study and preparation from all of the students along the way.
 
“The entire scholars bowl team and some staff members pitched in recently to help this group peak at the right time.”
 

MOUNDRIDGE CAPS LATE-SEASON SURGE WITH 2A TITLE DEFENSE
 
A slight hiccup in Saturday’s championship round pool play left Moundridge wondering if its hopes for a second straight Class 2A scholars bowl title were in jeopardy.
 
But the Wildcats regrouped to get the job done, winning 9 of 10 state matches to stay atop their 2A perch in the state tournament at Bennington.
 
“Our performance at state was fun to watch,” Moundridge coach Adam Robb said. “This team was very motivated to be successful in the postseason, especially after a great year last year. We had a strong regional performance and really wanted to carry that momentum into the state tournament.”
 
With four returning members from a team that won all 10 matches last year to win the state tournament it hosted, Moundridge repeated as champions after a dominant showing at regionals. Seniors Ella Schrag and Lela Winsor, junior Gentry Regier and sophomore Josh Seeger partnered with state newcomers Addi Rains and Jack Knoll to go 5-0 in their qualifying pool and 4-1 in the championship round.
 
Moundridge dropped a 50-25 decision in its third match of the finals. But the Knights ended up 2-3 in the finals, while Moundridge, St. Marys (3-2) and Maur Hill (2-3) claimed the top three spots.
 
“I think we all were just a little worried after losing to Salina Sacred Heart,” Robb said. “But they didn’t let it rattle them, especially with Wichita Central Christian, a challenging league foe, up next. … They responded well to the loss and didn’t look back, which was just awesome to observe.”
 
Moundridge hit its stride after the holidays, preceding its regional and state victories with a tournament title at Southeast of Saline. Winsor, a team captain, was unable to practice with her teammates until the second semester due to a college class. The Wildcats had a sub-.500 team record prior to the holiday break, in part to team members’ scheduling conflicts.
 
But the Wildcats went 11-1 at the Bennington regional and carried the momentum through to the program’s third state title.
 
“I’m not quite sure what made this group such a championship-calilber team, other than a strong sense of cohesiveness, an attitude of shared joy and a willingness to learn and get better each day,” Robb said. “It also helps that we have awesome teachers in the Moundridge school system who do so much of the preparation for events like this as part of their classes, simply by teaching their content areas.”
 

 
WICHITA INDEPENDENT ROLLS TO REPEAT IN CLASS 1A DIVISION I
 
Wichita Independent was going to be hard pressed to top its dominant run to last year’s Class 1A Division I state scholars bowl title.
 
But the Panthers at least matched what the 2024-25 squad accomplished, completing 20 postseason matches with an unbeaten record to claim their second consecutive state title.
 
After winning 10 matches to capture the Goessel regional title earlier this month, Independent won 10 state matches by an average of 60 points on Saturday in Lincoln for the program’s ninth state title.
 
“This year’s Independent team turned the goal of a state championship into an expectation,” said Independent coach Adam Maness, a member of the Panthers’ first state championship team 21 years ago.
 
On Saturday, Independent’s closest match in pool-play qualifying was a 70-30 victory over Frankfort. The Panthers then duplicated their 5-0 record in the six-team championship pool, with the closest match a 60-40 victory over Tribune.
 
The Jackrabbits and Frankfort posted 3-2 records in the finals, with Tribune taking the runner-up spot due to its 60-40 victory in head-to-head play.
 
Independent returned four members from last year’s championship team: seniors Mikiah Moore, Hadley Morrow and Jack Roe, and sophomore Rachel Jantz. Austin Collins and Avery Pollak made their state debuts.
 

SATANTA MAINTAINS MASTERY OF CLASS 1A DIVISION II
 
State scholars bowl titles have come in bunches for Satanta since it won its first 14 years ago.
 
The Indians appear to be ready for another run.
 
With just one senior among its five returning members of a 2025 state championship team, Satanta captured its second consecutive Class 1A Division II title on Saturday, posting a 9-1 record in the competition at Elyria Christian High School.
 
Noe Ramirez, the lone senior, teamed with juniors Edgar Najera and Jalynn Hockett, and sophomores Lauren Dusin and Deacon Hockett to sweep five round-robin matches in the championship pool after the Indians went 4-1 in qualifying.
 
Their work produced Satanta’s seventh tournament title of the season and ninth state championship in program history. The Indians went back-to-back in Class 1A Division I in 2013 and 2014, then won five straight in 1A Division I and 1A from 2017-21.
 
“The success of this year’s team, like all the Satanta scholars bowl teams that came before them, was based on hours of practice and study designed to enhance and reinforce the high-quality instruction that our school system provide,” said Ryan Burrows, Satanta’s coach since 1998.
 
Satanta, the Bucklin regional champion, dropped a 60-20 decision to Cunningham in state pool-play qualifying. But the Indians were otherwise flawless in the postseason, going 9-0 with a cumulative margin of 515 points at regionals.
 
In the state tournament, Satanta matched St. Xavier’s 4-1 pool-play record, winning the Pool B tiebreaker with a 70-(-5) head-to-head victory. The Indians scored 100 points in their championship pool rematch with St. Xavier, and also defeated runner-up Wallace County, third-place finisher Beloit-St. John’s, Hartford and Centre to claim the title.
 
The victory capped a season in which Satanta won its own tournament, as well as tournaments at Ashland, Lakin, Rolla and the Southern Plains-Iroquois league tournament at Pawnee Heights.