It’s Academic
The George Mason High School It’s Academic Team is composed of 9 strapping gentlemen that pretend to know a lot of stuff. We participate in a number of competitions each year, the most renown being the NBC aired game show, hosted for the last 38 years by Mac McGary. The other competitions that we attend include the Thomas Jefferson Invitational Tournament and the Bull Run District and VHSL Group A Region B championships.
The GM team of Andrew Reish, Jason Matlogh, and Christopher "Dutch" Guertsen battled Annandale High School and powerhouse Seneca Valley High School in the NBC show. After the first three rounds, it was apparent that the match was between Seneca Valley and GM, with Seneca Valley leading by 30 points, and Annandale off the pace by more than 100. GM entered the last round down by 40, and with a minute left, took the lead. The Mason team went on to win the close match, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NBC competition, held months down the road in March.
At the TJIT, GM entered two teams; Team A consisted of Daniel Hardman, Jason Matlogh, Evan G. List, and Nick Sukachavin. Team A won two matches and lost two against some the nation’s finest teams, some of which traveled to the tournament from Pennsylvania and Georgia. Team B, consisting of Beau Fay, Robbie Andrews and Connor McCullough, had a tough road to ho, competing against other teams consisting of four people. It was the first live competition that the three had ever faced, which added to the pressure of the matches. They lost by one question in the first match, and the second match dueled to an overtime match, which was controversially won by the opposition. They won their third match and finished the tournament 1-3.
The GM team avenged the loss with a strong start in the Bull Run District Tournament, but fell to Central Woodstock, who ousted GM from the tournament. From there, the team had just one more competition, NBC’s It’s Academic quarterfinal show against Oxon Hill and St. Albans. The team started poorly, but came back to within striking distance half way through the match. With just one round left, the team was in third place, behind Oxon Hill leading by just a few points, and St. Albans which possessed a commanding lead. Needing to take some chances to win, Andrew Reish gambled, answering a few questions before he was sure of the answers, but these gambles did not pay off, and the GM team wound up in third place to finish the season.
The team had a great time this year, and would like to extend its utmost thanks to its coach, Gail Nolan. We would also like to thank the students, teachers, and parents for their cooperation and support. bios