RE Log - Spring 2024

36 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2024 Student News Better and Better and Better RE’s academic teams have won five major national events in the last five years Quick-thinking students, dedicated coaches and a love of trivia have propelled Ransom Everglades’ academic teams to consistent success for more than two decades. The program’s achievements are too numerous to list: Ransom Everglades’ upper and middle school teams have won dozens of state and individual titles since 2004. Two academic team alumni, Lucas Miner ’20 and Matt Hoffer-Hawlik ’09 , went on to test their trivia skills on the television show Jeopardy! . Yet even against the backdrop of this impressive history, recent performances by RE’s academic teams have reached unprecedented heights. In the past five years, Raiders have claimed five national titles – and two silver medals internationally – in major history or quiz competitions. “It’s only gotten better and better and better,” said Miner, who was on the academic team all seven years at Ransom Everglades and appeared on Jeopardy! in 2019 and 2023. “The accumulation of knowledge is higher and higher and higher. Each generation is better at the competition – and smarter at the competition – than the generation before. It’s incredible.” The program’s first national title came in Chicago in 2019 when Daniel Figueroa ’24 won the National History Bee for seventh graders. That was followed by back-to-back grade-level national titles by Parker Jelke ’27 in Arlington, Va., in 2021 (sixth grade) and Orlando in 2022 (seventh). That year, Javier Kumar ’22 also won the upper school U.S. History Bee in Arlington. And last summer, RE’s middle school academic team – Jelke, Zach Corbin- Cheah ’27, Lucas Gonzalez ’27 and Jaz Puri ’28 – won the National History Bowl in Washington, D.C., and the team finished second in the 5th International History Olympiad Championship in Rome. (Jelke earned second place in the individual competitions at both events.) “To win the national championship, everything has to go right,” coach Joe Mauro said. “They had worked so hard. The whole team, the parents, everyone was jumping up and down and hugging each other. They were so happy.” Meanwhile, the upper school varsity team – Leo Fein ’23, Figueroa, Jelke, Jonathan Pollak ’23, Isabel Chong ’24 and Mikey Zoi ’24 – finished third in the nation in 2023 in the National History Bowl in Arlington for the second straight year. Even by RE’s high standards, the recent run of excellence has been remarkable. “It’s really helped us foster a sense of legacy,” Figueroa said. “It helps inspire us.” Teammembers say the success starts with Mauro, the history and social sciences teacher who has coached the middle school team for 21 years. Mauro’s History Club attracts history lovers, trivia enthusiasts and curious students, many of whom discover their passion and find their co-curricular niche. Mauro said he started the club – out of which grew a competitive team – in the early 2000s in response to the success of the upper school academic team under former coach Steve Frappier. (The upper schoolers are now coached by Branly Fontaine and Abby Berler.) Frappier and Mauro envisioned the middle school club as a feeder into the upper school team. “Mr. Mauro was a really good mentor and coach for us,” Figueroa said. “He taught us how to prepare for the competitions, the study resources to use. Javier Kumar ’22 Coach Joe Mauro