Duanesburg’s JV and varsity Masterminds teams are off to a great start this year, with the varsity team currently in second place in the league, and the JV team in first place!
Masterminds is a quiz bowl-style academic competition for high school students. Matches are played in eight-minute halves with each school playing four students at a time. The questions cover a broad range of topics including art, biology, chemistry, current events, geography, history, literature, music, political science, pop culture, religion and sports — and more!
DCS music teacher Scott Hopkins advises the team, which currently has nine members — 7 sophomores, 1 junior and 1 senior. The students meet after school to practice, brush up on their trivia, and align their strategies ahead of matches against other Capital Region area schools. Their competitive season runs the course of the school year, with matches taking place from October through April, followed by playoffs and a postseason.
Sophomore Ava Pagano is the team’s captain and says her love of trivia is what drew her to Masterminds. “I’ve always loved trivia,” she said. When asked what her strongest subjects are, she mentioned history and pop culture as two of her favorites.
“In order to be successful at Masterminds, you really have to know a little bit about a lot of different topics,” she added, noting that it’s helpful to have teammates who have diverse areas of trivia knowledge.
The team is gearing up for its next competition on Tuesday, February 15 where they will face current league leaders, Niskayuna. Other districts in Duanesburg’s league include Emma Willard, LaSalle Institute, Schuylerville, Waterford and Watervliet.
Duanesburg Masterminds team
- Advisor – Scott Hopkins
- Seniors – Griffin Boehlke
- Juniors – Andrew Longo
- Sophomores: Ava Pagano, Heather Black, Eowyn Boggs, Shannon Zink, Ben Zyneicki, Finnain McBride and Maddy Marsh