Clark County Varsity Scholar Bowl Team Off to Strong Start in 2026 Season

By Editor | February 19, 2026

By Emily Bontrager

The Clark County Varsity Scholar Bowl team is off to an impressive start this season, building a 27–4 record and showcasing a roster filled with young talent and strong teamwork.

Team members include Zac Irvin, Lexi Oilar, Liam McIntire, Vivian Reardon, Brody Davis, and Breckin Webster. Under the leadership of Mr. Reardon, the group has continued to grow together through preparation and steady improvement in each competition.

Students prepare for matches by participating in practice rounds, studying a wide range of material, and using NAQT resources to sharpen their knowledge.

“The losses that we have taken were at a tournament that we went to in November in Columbia, Missouri, where we were playing a lot of schools out of Kansas City, Columbia, and the St. Louis area,” Mr. Reardon said.

“And that was expected that we weren’t going to win against some of those 6A schools. But with schools our size, we’ve been extremely competitive.”

So far this season, Clark County has won the Palmyra PAWS Tournament, placed second at the Schuyler County Winter Invitational, and finished ninth out of 30 schools at the Missouri Quiz Bowl Association Fall Invitational.

What has stood out most to Mr. Reardon is how well the team works together.

“We’ve got a young man, Liam McIntire, who’s developing into one of the best players in the state of Missouri for his age,” he said.

“And then the other members of the team just fit in well and support one another and have been very positive and a great group to work with day in and day out.”

McIntire has been the top scorer at the last two tournaments at Schuyler and Palmyra and placed fourth overall at the Missouri Quiz Bowl Association Fall Invitational.

“What makes him such a great competitor is his willingness to put in the work outside of practice and the school day,” Mr. Reardon said.

Last year’s varsity team advanced to the quarterfinals, an experience Mr. Reardon believes is a big benefit to the group.

“I think that experience has been very helpful for them,” he said.

“They know what it’s like to play in a high-pressure environment and against some larger schools. I think our number one goal is to finish in the top four in the state of Missouri. We’d like to hang a banner in the gym here.”

Junior Brody Davis has been part of Scholar Bowl since seventh grade and is excited about the team’s success so far. To prepare, he studies a wide variety of topics and reads as much as possible.

“There is this website we use called QB Reader that pops up a bunch of questions,” Brody said.

“You can pick different subjects and difficulties. It helps a lot.”

When facing tougher opponents, Brody focuses on speed and strategy.

“I try to buzz in faster than they can, and if you get bonuses off the bat when they miss the question, that helps a lot too,” he said.

He explained the match format includes toss-up and bonus questions across subjects such as math, science, history, literature, and mythology, his personal strength.

“A lot of stuff on myth and history I didn’t know about, and I learned on Scholar Bowl,” Brody said.

Beyond the competition, Brody enjoys traveling with the team and gaining knowledge across many subjects. The team’s goal, he said, is simple: place high at state and go even farther than last year.

“We placed really well last year, and we hope to have a better score and go farther this year,” he said.

He also credited team captain Liam for his leadership and work ethic.

Mr. Reardon said coaching this year’s group has been especially rewarding.

“They are just an extraordinary group of young men and women to work with day in and day out,” he added.

With strong preparation, growing experience, and a close-knit team dynamic, the Clark County Varsity Scholar Bowl team is ready for another successful run this season. Community members will have several chances to watch the Varsity, JV, and Middle School teams compete this spring and support Clark County as they continue building on an already impressive year.