PALCS Academic Team Progresses to Semi-Finals

USP Academic Team, Students with Teachers Outside

The PALCS high school Academic Team has just finished their regular season in the top half of all high schools in the highly competitive Chester County League. Their season is over just yet; the team is now headed to the semi-finals in February.

At the recent Downingtown East Invitational National Academic Quiz Tournament (NAQT), PALCS won the consolation bracket, ending the day with an 8-2 record. The tournament was attended by nationally ranked squads from Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland.

There are 13 PALCS students on the academic team, ranging in grades 9-12. All the students on the team are also members of the University Scholars Program (USP). The teams’ regular season takes place from October to January.

“We’re having a rebuilding year, last year we were nationally ranked,” said the academic team’s coach and USP math teacher Bert Sommar. “At our recent tournament, our top individual tied for the 5th highest individual score, which is pretty impressive,” he continued.

Additionally, PALCS student Alex Gustafson tied for 5th in individual standings. The full standings are available on the NAQT website.

The semi-finals for the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams will take place at the Chester County Intermediate Unit building located in Downingtown, PA. Varsity is scheduled to take place February 6, 2017 and Junior Varsity is scheduled for February 13, 2017, both from 9 am – 4 pm. Teams that advance from the semi-finals will then report to the Championship round which will take place at TCHS Brandywine on March 28, 2017 from 7 pm – 9 pm. The victors from the championship round will then be invited to the Pennsylvania State Academic Competition in Harrisburg, which is tentatively scheduled for April 28, 2017.

On behalf of all of us here at PALCS, we would like to congratulate and wish good luck to all the members of the PALCS Academic Team in these next competitions! We are proud to have you represent our school and community!

Online Virtual Learning PA

Ready to Find Your
Place at PALCS?