The Tyrone Area High School Quiz League Team currently has a record of 7-2, and with a good showing at their final tournament tomorrow, they can qualify for the playoffs for the first time in school history.
In their first competition of the season, they defeated Hollidaysburg B, Bishop Guilfoyle A, and Bedford, but lost to Bishop Guilfoyle A at the Appalacia IU8 building in Altoona on Tuesday, September 23.
Tyrone faced one of the strongest teams in the league, Hollidaysburg B, in their first match.
Tyrone came in clutch and beat Hollidaysburg for the first time in many years.
“Oh, it felt really good,” said junior Pyper Sparklin. “As a school, we lose to Holidaysburg in like every sport, including soccer, so to finally be part of a team that beat them was amazing.”
Head Coach Mike Funicelli was impressed by his team’s performance.
“I was elated to see the look on our teams’ faces after the victory,” Funicelli said, “At halftime of the match, they were told to lock in and bring home the dub. They complied.”
On October 7, Tyrone improved its record to 7-2 with wins over Williamsburg High School and Claysburg, and a loss to Altoona.
“I’m hoping that for the first time in Tyrone Quiz League history, we make the playoffs and earn the respect of the competing schools. For years, we have been a middle-of-the-pack team, but because of our hard practices and strenuous study sessions, this is our year,” Funicelli said
Sophomore Nick Sutt has had an immediate positive impact, leading the team in questions answered so far this season.
In addition to Sutt, other members of the 2025 Quiz League team are Pyper Sparklin, Eliese Kubarek, Sofia Witcamp, Potter Myers, Karter Pokulich, Lily Fenstarmacher, and Katherine Sorokie.
Quiz League is a game show-style trivia tournament sponsored by IU8. Questions are drawn from many subjects, including math, science, literature, history, sports, and pop culture. Students have a time limit to answer questions, and if they answer early enough and correctly, they earn power points.
“I thought that Tyrone would do pretty well after all the sophomores from JV moved up to varsity since we made the playoffs last year,” Sutt said. “But I didn’t think that we would win so many matches. There were many great JV teams that we played against that also moved up.”
Sparklin is impressed with their performance so far.
“I had no idea how good the sophomores were before the first match, but I was pleasantly surprised. Without them, we wouldn’t have done so well,” Sparklin said.
Tyrone will take on Bishop Guilfoyle A, Everett, Bellwood, Great Commission, and Northern Bedford tomorrow in Altoona.
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