Rio Mesa Wins ’94 Knowledge Bowl Contest

Students at Camarillo’s Rio Mesa High School have won the 1994 Ventura County Knowledge Bowl, prevailing over the rival Buena High School team that has dominated the county contest for the past 14 years.

“This was a great upset,” said Charlotte Poe, a member of the American Assn. of University Women in Camarillo that runs the annual contest.

Modeled after the “Jeopardy!” television game show, the competition tests high school students’ knowledge in subjects ranging from science to sports.

The association launched the Knowledge Bowl in 1964. This year, the contest included 10 private and public high schools from around the county.

But since 1980, Buena High in Ventura has been the team to beat: It has captured the contest’s first-place trophy 11 times in the past 14 years, including every year from 1989 to 1993.

“Buena has an awesome reputation and a winning tradition, and that’s intimidating,” said Scott Lee, a Rio Mesa economics teacher who coaches the school’s Knowledge Bowl team. “I was surprised when we did win.”

Buena’s team placed second in this year’s competition, which was held on three consecutive Wednesday nights, starting March 2 and ending this week. Simi Valley and Oxnard high schools tied for third.

The other schools that competed were Camarillo, Channel Islands, Hueneme, Santa Paula, St. Bonaventure and Ventura.

As on “Jeopardy!” contestants in the Knowledge Bowl try to answer questions on a wide range of topics, hitting buzzers when they think they have the correct responses.

But there is one difference: The Knowledge Bowl teams aren’t able to choose the topics. Instead, moderators fire off questions randomly on subjects that include math, English, history, philosophy and entertainment.

The questions range from the serious to the somewhat silly.

Contestants this year were asked to name the decade in which Jonas Salk produced the polio vaccine and to identify the three actors who played “Superman” in two TV series and in the movies.

Salk invented the vaccine in the 1950s and the actors were George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain.

Knowing the names of TV and movie actors would seem to have little bearing on whether students succeed in life, but Knowledge Bowl organizers say the contest encourages students to have a wide-ranging knowledge and to be able to converse with all types of people.

“These kids are well-rounded not only in science and math but also in sports and the arts,” Poe said. “It helps them to communicate with other Americans when they go forth into college or life.”

Whether students ever use the bits of trivia they spout in the Knowledge Bowl games, they have fun and benefit from working together in teams to prepare for the contests, students said.

“It’s kind of a bonding thing with students and your fellow classmates,” said Chris Johnsen, one of 12 students on the Rio Mesa team. “It’s a release from school and a time to have some fun and let go.”

The Rio Mesa team practiced during its lunch hours beginning in February.

Although it was impossible to anticipate all the potential questions, the Rio Mesa coach said he emphasized to the team not to be afraid of being wrong.

“If they have any feeling they know the answer they should try,” Lee said.

The first- and second-place winners in the competition get trophies, and third-place teams receive certificates. This year, organizers also recognized the Oxnard High School team for its exceptional team spirit.

Eight students who were named most valuable players received one-volume, condensed encyclopedias. They were Steve Busch, Sovann Somreth and Bill Watkins from Buena; Russell Stevens from Hueneme; Jeff Smith from Rio Mesa; Ben Cordell and Tim McConville from St. Bonaventure; and Ben Hudson from Simi Valley.