RELEASED 2/15/2022 Contact: Jim Mehrling 440-463-2557
Headline: STUDENT QUIZ PROGRAM BEGINS 32ND RADIO SEASON
Masked but eager, student contestants are meeting for in-person competitions again, as the Scholastic Games radio quiz continues its fourth decade on WEOL (AM930 and FM 100,3). The weekly program featuring academic teams from Lorain County high schools, is heard Mondays 6-7 p.m. The 2021 season found students, host, advisors and judges on their home computers. This year, all appear happy to return to the program’s original format as they compete in remote broadcasts from the spacious Rotary Room in the Elyria Public Library’s newly-opened main branch. The library has been a radio sponsor of the program for several years.
The first three broadcasts have yielded victories for Oberlin, Olmsted Falls, and Sheffield Brookside high schools in competitions described below. Most of the high schools in Lorain County are competing this year. The broadcasts will end in May with the 32nd annual County Academic Championship. Playoffs will include all winning teams and the highest-scoring runner-up teams as well, competing as “wild cards” prior to quarterfinals in April. Following broadcast the station archives the programs online (http://weol.northcoastnow.com/2022-lorain-county-scholastic-games/ ).
THE COMPETITIONS Keystone and Oberlin competed in the January 31st program. Following rounds on general knowledge, Current Events rounds, and a theme round with alliterative answers (from “Billy Budd” to Tom Thumb), the fourth round presents a series of clues for each answer, with a correct answer to a first clue yielding fifty points, with diminishing point values for up to four additional clues, the last of which is ten points. Oberlin established and widened a lead in this round, scoring with 20 points for naming Sears, 30 points for Sam Adams, and 40 points after hearing just two clues about the Soviet Union. Keystone scored 20 points from clues about the state of Indiana. Oberlin continued to lead with faster buzzing in on a variety of topics in the final round, ending with a 330 to 240 win. It was a respectable losing score for Keystone, however, making return as a wildcard likely later in the season.
Representing Oberlin were Marcus Bertoni, Dan Aranovsky, and Sasha Chen, who was awarded the program’s Standout Scholar Award, which is presented to the student who contributed the most to his or her team, an honor which includes a $50 prize. She and Bertoni also won the award last year, once each. Keystone’s team consisted of Hayden Spence, Tristan Magel, and Noah Weaver.
North Ridgeville and Olmsted Falls met in the February 7th program. “A” words and names and a theme round on book titles based on quotes from Shakespeare scored points for both teams. Round four’s possible high scoring answers ranged from the Texas Rangers to Karl Marx, and the biggest score for Olmsted Falls was 50 points for naming Toronto, Canada, from facts in its early history. Quicker buzzing throughout the competition provided a 340 to 60 victory to the Olmsted Falls team. Representing North Ridgeville were Elliot Clantner, John Boden and Aiden Wood. The Olmsted Falls team included David Vidovich and Jacob O’Connor, who earned the Standout Scholar Award.
Brookside and Midview competed on the February 14th broadcast. A “trees” round with answers ranging from Ohio’s buckeye to oak leaf clusters on military medals and Dutch elm disease provided an early challenge to both teams. Success with quick responses to the variety of topics covered in the fast-moving final round provided most of Brookside’s 370 to 70 win with a possible bye to the Scholastic Games quarterfinals. Midview’s team included Joel Greenly, Hadley Gilles and Braeden Pelko. Winning for Brookside were Chase Holm, Nico Morello, and captain Kassie Brooks, winner of the Standout Scholar Award, She previously won the award three times in past seasons making her the only addition this year to the Scholastic Games Honor Roll of students who have achieved the honor four or more times. Midview’s Greenley was a Standout winner last year.
Scholastic Games began in the fall of 1990 with the support of Nordson Corporation and has continued on radio station WEOL during every school year since. The format, originally developed for a Cleveland program in the 1980s, has changed little in the run of the show, though the questions are continually updated. Scholastic Games is the longest-running program of its type in the region, and its focus on greater Lorain County has provided maximum opportunities for local students to compete.
Here is the balance of the first round broadcast schedule, with programs running between 6 and 7 p.m. on Mondays, subject to modification when conflicts with live sports coverage occurs:.
2/21 Amherst Steele vs. Avon
2/28 Elyria Catholic vs. Firelands
3/7 Avon Lake vs. Lake Ridge Academy (Defending Champion School)
3/14 Elyria vs. Vermilion
3/21, 3/28, 4/18 – Quarterfinal Qualifying Competitions
4/4, 4/11, 4/25, 5/2 – Quarterfinals
5/9, 5/16, 5/23 – Semifinals and Championship
Over the years, twelve different schools have won the championships, including Amherst Steele (1991, 2015), Elyria (1992, 93, 94, 97, 2000), Admiral King (1995, 1998), Oberlin (1996), North Ridgeville (1999, 2002), Avon Lake (2001, 05, 20), Midview (2003), Keystone (2004), Lake Ridge Acad. (2006, 10, 21), Vermilion (2007, 08), Avon (2009, 16, 17,19), Olmsted Falls (2011, 12, 13, 14, 18).
The program has enjoyed long-term support from Nordson Corporation and various funds of the Community Foundation, this year including the Steve Boyza Fund, the Patsie C. Campana Sr. Fund, the Schaeffer Family Fund, The Stumphauzer, O’Toole, McLaughlin, McGlamery & Loughman Co. Fund, the “Touch the Future” Fund, the Al Hillegass Fund, the Ford MacArthur Endowment Fund and the Madeleyn Metzger Fund. Additional support is from the Nord Family Foundation and the Community West Foundation. The radio sponsors this year are EcoTree Services and the Elyria Public Library System, which has provided venue space for program sessions for several years.
Area colleges and universities participate by providing $1000 tuition credit awards for allocation by participating high schools. Participating for all or most of the program’s thirty-year history were Lorain County Community College, Oberlin College, Ursuline College, Ashland University, Heidelberg University, John Carroll University, with more recent additional awards from the University of Findlay, Lake Erie College, Tiffin University and Notre Dame College of Ohio.
The program’s host and producer, Jim Mehrling, is a veteran northeast Ohio broadcaster. After seven years as Chief Announcer at WEOL, he was Production Manager at Cleveland’s WERE-AM for over a decade, and filled a similar role with Cleveland’s WCLV-FM for over 25 years. He is recipient of a 2019 President’s Award from the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters. Again this year, most Scholastic Games programs will be followed by a talk feature, “Dialogues in Education,” which presents education success stories with its host, award-winning journalist Bob Tayek.
BROADCAST ON AM 930 – WEOL – From MEHRLING STUDIOS, BEREA, OH, 44017-2449, Telephone 440-463-2557