May 2024 Accolades

We are sharing Student Accolades from:
 

National History Bowl >>
National Championship Exams >>
Debate >> 
Track and Field >>
Quiz Bowl >>

International Academic Competitions' High School Nationals
Earlier this month, GDS students participated in the International Academic Competitions' High School Nationals in Arlington. In the National History Bowl, GDS's Junior Varsity team, including Lomahn Sun ’26, Henry Fragale ’26, Alec Donath ’26, and Haughton Neppl ’27, placed tenth out of 60 teams from across the country. They narrowly missed the National Champion position, and second-place team by only one question.  

Ben Hellman ’25 led the GDS Varsity team, playing the first five rounds solo, while most teams generally have four players. Luke Fedorchak ’24 then joined him for the remainder of the tournament. Out of 84 varsity teams, this solo-then-duo team placed 31st. 

The Bees and National Championship Exams
Representing GDS, Haughton Neppl ’27 participated in several individual bees and National Championship Exams (NCE). In the competitive, all-subject Academic Bee, Haughton placed second overall. In the World History Bee and U.S. History Bee, he placed sixth and eighth, respectively, and qualified for semifinals in the Science Bee, and Political Science Bee. In the Women's History NCE, Business and Economics NCE, and the Historical Geography NCE, he placed second, fourth, and fifth, respectively. 
 

Debate
In April, GDS placed in the top 40 of the Debate Tournament of Champions, with a strong showing by our seniors, Ike Song ’24, Hercules Zhang ’24, Mark Orr ’24, and Ila Dohrmann ’24,at The National Championships. By invitation only, GDS was one of 1,353 competitors from 36 different states and countries. 

Track and Field 
At the Track and Field Championships this month, 19 hoppers competed in MAC events; four hoppers competed in ISL events at the Varsity B Track and Field Championships. Our team finished sixth among the 15 women’s teams in the ISL, and GDS won the MAC B Championships by an 89 point margin over the other six men’s teams.

In the Varsity A Championships, GDS once again took the MAC championship, scoring 152 points. Nathaniel Romine ’24, Will Babcock ’24, Kovan Smith ’24 and Nathaniel Mintzer ’24 finished the 4x100 relay with the top performance (42.65 seconds), breaking the school record set at last year’s MAC meet. Congratulations to all!
 

Quiz Bowl
The GDS Quiz Bowl team, Ben Hellman ’25, Henry Fragale ’26, Lomahn Sun ’26, and Haughton Neppl ’27, won first place at the Texas Quiz Bowl Alliance Terrapin Varsity Tournament. Individually, Haughton and Ben placed third and fifth overall.  Please wish them all congratulations!