GHS again sending four academic teams to state Super Bowl finals

Greencastle High School will send four of its six academic teams to the state finals of the 2018 Hoosier Academic Super Bowl next month at Purdue University.

The GHS English, Science, Mathematics and Interdisciplinary teams all secured spots in the Saturday, May 5 state finals with their performances at area competition Tuesday evening at GHS.

Members of the defending state champion Greencastle High School English Team are (from left) Simon Foss, Ben Gellman and Bailey Williams. They correctly answered 18 of 25 questions in the area competition to post the best score in the state in Division 3 and advance to the finals at Purdue University in pursuit of their sixth consecutive state title.

In fact, Greencastle's English, Science and Math teams all posted the highest scores in the state in Division 3 of the competition, while the Interdisciplinary Team heads to state tied for third among the seven finalists.

The defending state champion GHS English Team, which is on an incredible run of five straight state titles, correctly responded to 18 of 25 questions for the top spot among state finalists. GHS will be joined in the English finals by Jimtown, Southridge, Alexandria, Heritage Hills, Milan and Oak Hill.

The GHS Science Team answered 21 of the 25 questions correctly to take the top spot and join Indianapolis Scecina, Union County, Knox, Eastern Hancock, Boone Grove and Milan in the Science state finals.

The GHS Math Team got 19 of 25 answers right to tie with Scecina and join Heritage Hills, Centerville, Forest Park, Fountain Central and Garrett in the Math state finals.

The Greencastle Interdisciplinary squad got 17 of the 25 questions right to tie with Tell City and Heritage Hills for third among the seven finalists. Also competing for the interdisciplinary state championship will be Union County, Andrean, Indianapolis Shortridge and Boone Grove.

Commenting on the English Team and its five-title streak, Coach Nicole Burkhalter noted that "Ben Gellman has been on the English team for four years, but this was his first official competition as captain. He did a phenomenal job with the new team members, senior Simon Foss and freshman Bailey Williams, providing excellent support."

Members of the Math Team, led by Gayle Hansen, are Connor Crary, Simon Foss, Kristy Huang, Sean Ramey, Vivian Savage, Michael White and Ben Wilkerson.

The Science Team, coached by Brad Kingma, is made up of Connor Crary, Jack Howard, Sean Ramey, Ben Wilkerson and Bailey Williams.

Members of the Interdisciplinary Team are Susanna Howard, Taylor Cash, Ben Gellman, Simon Foss and Sean Ramey.

She also had high praise for the all-senior Interdisciplinary team, calling it "fun to watch."

"They work well together," Burkhalter said, "and state competition gives them a great way to end their academic career together."

The Greencastle Fine Arts Team had the top score in area competition at GHS with 16 correct responses but did not advance because it was tied for ninth overall when scores from around the state were compiled.

Greencastle also sent four teams to the super bowl finals last year, winning the state title in English.

GHS will be hoping to build on the 26 state titles it has earned overall since its Science Team brought home the initial championship hardware in 1990.

North Putnam, South Putnam and Cloverdale teams also competed in area competition at GHS but none of their respective teams advanced to state.

The NPHS Interdisciplinary Team came up one answer short of being a finalist with 15 correct answers.