Bears cap historic run with third place state finish
Galena Scholar Bowl Team-- Back Row (L to R) Tyler Carr, Jacob Martin, Maribelle Martin, and Head Coach Matthew Carr-- Front Row (L to R) Assistant Coach Brooke Monteith, Bella Baird, Brenda Forker, Mollie Potter, Harley McCullough, and Zane Tolbert.
Galena High School Scholar Bowl (40-17, 7-0) traveled to the campus of the University of Missouri on Friday, May 6, to compete in the 2022 Class 2 Scholar Bowl Championships. The 2021-22 season had the Bears claim conference, district, and quarterfinal championships, but the season was not yet complete.
The State Championships began with a round-robin format seeing Galena, Polo, Columbia Independent, and Eugene all playing preliminary rounds against each other. Using the records from these matches and a tie-breaker of average points scored, the top 2 teams would play for the championship, while the 3-seed and 4-seed would play for the 3rd place trophy.
Galena would begin Round 1 with a back-and-forth game against the Polo Panthers which ended with a 220-200 Bear victory. Round 2 saw the Bears face the Columbia Independent Lions, a 3-time state runner-up. The Lions got off to a hot start before leading 220-100, but the match was a tale of two halves; as the Bears closed, and eventually won the match 330-300. The Eugene Eagles were the Round 3 opponent. The Bears hoped to complete the sweep and earn a spot in the title game. However, the Eagles prevailed 330-230 over the Bears.
Galena, Eugene, and Columbia Independent all finished the preliminary rounds with a 2-1 record, and a ‘triangle-of-death” leading to the tiebreaker of points per game being used to seed the top 3 teams. Columbia Independent would face Eugene for the Class 2 championship, while the Bears would face the Panthers for Third Place.
The Third Place Game saw the Bears lead throughout. Polo made a small run to close the gap, but each time, Galena would maintain and extend the lead again. The Third Place Championship belonged to the Bears by a score of 310-220. Columbia Independent claimed the Class 2 State Title with a 370-290 win over Eugene.
Over the last 2 years the Bears have claimed back-to-back conference regular season and tournament titles, with a combined 20-0 record against SWCL foes. Senior team members have collectively earned 6 All-SWCL nods, 5-All-District nods, and multiple All-Tournament selections in events such as the Kickapoo Classic and Clever Invitational. The impressive run would match the best finish in program history, and earn Galena its first MSHSAA state trophy since 2003.
The State Championships began with a round-robin format seeing Galena, Polo, Columbia Independent, and Eugene all playing preliminary rounds against each other. Using the records from these matches and a tie-breaker of average points scored, the top 2 teams would play for the championship, while the 3-seed and 4-seed would play for the 3rd place trophy.
Galena would begin Round 1 with a back-and-forth game against the Polo Panthers which ended with a 220-200 Bear victory. Round 2 saw the Bears face the Columbia Independent Lions, a 3-time state runner-up. The Lions got off to a hot start before leading 220-100, but the match was a tale of two halves; as the Bears closed, and eventually won the match 330-300. The Eugene Eagles were the Round 3 opponent. The Bears hoped to complete the sweep and earn a spot in the title game. However, the Eagles prevailed 330-230 over the Bears.
Galena, Eugene, and Columbia Independent all finished the preliminary rounds with a 2-1 record, and a ‘triangle-of-death” leading to the tiebreaker of points per game being used to seed the top 3 teams. Columbia Independent would face Eugene for the Class 2 championship, while the Bears would face the Panthers for Third Place.
The Third Place Game saw the Bears lead throughout. Polo made a small run to close the gap, but each time, Galena would maintain and extend the lead again. The Third Place Championship belonged to the Bears by a score of 310-220. Columbia Independent claimed the Class 2 State Title with a 370-290 win over Eugene.
Over the last 2 years the Bears have claimed back-to-back conference regular season and tournament titles, with a combined 20-0 record against SWCL foes. Senior team members have collectively earned 6 All-SWCL nods, 5-All-District nods, and multiple All-Tournament selections in events such as the Kickapoo Classic and Clever Invitational. The impressive run would match the best finish in program history, and earn Galena its first MSHSAA state trophy since 2003.