Last weekend, the Starr’s Mill academic team showed off some Panther pride at the local game show “High Q.” The team competed against Dunwoody and played well, though they did not win.

“The team played to everyone’s strength, including [senior] John Schneider who performed very well,” academic team coach Nancy Close said. “I think the ‘High Q’ MVP was John Schneider. He had an outstanding night.”

“High Q” is a local game show run by WSB-TV. The show features two high school academic teams per episode. The two teams compete in three rounds answering questions by buzzing in. The teams face off head to head for the chance to move up in the competition, playing the other teams that have won. The final prize is the title of being champion of “High Q” and scholarship money to help the young scholars on the road to whatever awaits after high school.

“I think they play well together, and I expect that being able to watch themselves play will give them an opportunity to make adjustments that we don’t usually get in academic team,” Close said.

What put the team behind was their speed during the match. The team produced good answers when they had the speed they needed. Winning almost every question they buzzed, the academic team showed that they do have the smarts to win.

“With academic team in general, how fast you can verbalize the answer affects your outcome every time you play, but I think we’re in pretty good shape considering how early it is in the season,” Close said.

Close plans to use this experience to help the team grow. Four-year team member William Fry captained the team for the match. “Will has been a great captain, really listening to his team to put the best bonus answers forward,” Close said.

How the team has been affected by this experience is unclear yet. Close says, “I do think it was a good sign how they responded to the setback [points] and that they maintained focus throughout the match.” They stayed on topic and always on alert throughout the entire match. The team has won three of the local matches, but this match proves that they need to practice and improve to play on higher levels.

The academic team has many more opportunities to show off their smarts. The Starr’s Mill team may even have a chance to come back to the show. The show offers a second chance bracket with the highest scoring losers. They compete for a chance to get back on the show. This won’t be for sure until all of the competitors in this year’s season have competed.

For their next competition, Close and team travel to McIntosh High School on Oct. 17.