Write-Ups and News

Southside Invitational Results

Large Schools: In the large schools division of the Southside Invitational, Russellville B not only went through their own A team (lacking leading scorer Ian Warnick for the second consecutive tournament), but beat Rogers and Fayetteville en route to a Southside Invitational victory. Fayetteville took a preliminary loss to Russellville A before running through consecutive 7A rivals Northside and Cabot to make the finals, where they fell to Russellville B. 

Small Schools: In the small schools division, Haas Hall Fayetteville downed 3A-Northwest rivals Haas Hall Bentonville twice (once in the prelims, and again in the tournament final) to claim the tournament crown. HHA Fayetteville's tournament road went through 2A contender Haas Hall Rogers and 3A stalwart Lifeway Christian, both of whom took trophies in state tournaments last season. 

Fayetteville Bulldog Invitational Results

For the first time this season, Russellville A is not the champion of a tournament they played in. Justin Han's Fort Smith Southside Mavericks (31-1) toppled the Cyclones (41-1) in the final, 280-150, to knock off a previously undefeated team and claim another tournament championship. Bryant defeated Rogers Heritage in the third-place game in a possible 7A quarterfinal preview later this year, and other notable contestants include Haas Hall Fayetteville A and Bentonville West, who both bowed out in the quarterfinals of the tournament. 

End of November Power Rankings

1. Russellville A (31-0) -- Still unblemished with not much left to play this semester. Ian Warnick has found a completely new gear and may be the best player in the state right now, while Gidian Fuller has also impressed as Ian's second scorer. This team looks for revenge at Friends of QB this weekend, where they suffered a defeat to Southside A last year.

2. FS Southside A (17-1) --  Their only loss is to Russellville A by less than 100 points. Justin Han is considered the best player in Arkansas by most players in the community. Henry Gilbert is one of the best second scorers in the state. This is still the 7A frontrunner and should be back on PBS this season.

3. ASMSA (5-1) -- The Cyber Dolphins of ASMSA (i love that mascot) will be on the road again once again to defend their Friends of Quiz Bowl Large Schools division, which they claimed by beating one of the best duos in state history last season. Jacob Lewis and Ridgely Bond are still the best one-two punch in the state and cover most of the canon themselves. This 7A race should be incredible.

4. Hazen (10-0) -- Open until I don't know when, but Michael Bowman led his QB camp team to 3rd in bracket play with wins over Gidian Fuller's team and Henry Gilbert's team. They still are the only Arkansas team to win a pyramidal competition this season. 

5. Haas Hall Fayetteville (8-3) -- Two trophies on the year, it seems they've rebuilt after the loss of James Tanski. Andrew Simmons and Tyler Johnson are one of the best duos in the state. 

HMs: Fayetteville, Bryant, Haas Hall Bentonville, Mountain View, Batesville, Russellville B 

PA Bruin Invitational Results -- On October 25, 2025, Pulaski Academy, which has served as the all-stars tournament site the past two seasons, held its Bruin Invitational for senior high teams. Teams from across the state and across the classification spectrum competed in this tournament, but it was two 7A teams from Central Arkansas left standing in the final -- Bryant, seeking to make it back to the finals after last year's showing, and Conway, looking to continue its already decent showings through the season. Mountain View defeated eStem in the third place game. Maumelle Charter sophomore Anant Borad led the field in scoring with 13.75 tossups per game.

LRCH Tiger Cup Results -- On October 18, 2025, Central Arkansas quizbowl teams (and an odd abundance of Southeastern Arkansas representatives) met at Little Rock Central High School to compete in the Tiger Cup invitational tournament. Russellville's A and B teams met in the finals after running roughshod through the field; Russellville A dominated the match 310-70, winning the tournament behind a Herculean effort from Ian Warnick -- 20.33 tossups per game in the preliminary rounds, including a 25-tossup game that broke the Russellville program record for single-game tossups from one player. Despite lacking Gidian Fuller and Will Stump, the Cyclones continued their streak of dominance on the season, remaining unblemished through October thus far. Marley McClanahan for Russellville B scored 8 tossups per game to lead her team to the finals, and a pair of sophomores in Colten Breedlove and Rickey Liu combining for 9.33 tossups per game behind her.

War Eagle Invitational Results -- On October 11, 2025, Arkansas quizbowl teams from across NWA (and a few from Central Arkansas) gathered at Rogers Heritage High School to compete in the War Eagle Invitational. This event had two divisions; in the Navy (7A teams plus Russellville A and B), Russellville A defeated FS Southside A 245-160 in the final, maintaining their undefeated record on the season. They put up the season's first 500+ point game on AGQBA format in the preliminaries in a resounding 520-135 win over Bryant and continued their dominance throughout the day. Southside A similarly stomped their way through the preliminary rounds, with their highest-scoring single game being a 465-120 thrashing of Rogers B. In the third place game, Fayetteville defeated Russellville B 120-75.

In the Orange division (1A-6A teams), Haas Hall Fayetteville A defeated Mountain View 190-60 in the final to claim their first tournament victory of the season. HHFV A won all five of their matches (only 5? -- everyone please advocate for better tournament formats because what) in convincing fashion to continue their hot streak after a 3rd place showing at last weekend's University of Arkansas Hawgs Invitational. Pulaski Academy defeated 2A upstart Ozark Catholic 115-30 in the third place game. 

October 4 Tournament Results -- Two tournaments were played in Arkansas on the weekend of October 4th. In Central Arkansas, Harding University's invitational tournament run on NAQT's Invitational Series #241A offered a chance at HSNCT and SSNCT qualification for 8 teams who signed up for it. In the top bracket, Hazen, Batesville, Little Rock Central, and Buffalo Island Central jostled for position atop the standings after finishing the preliminaries 7-0, 6-1, 5-2, and 3-4, respectively. Buffalo Island Central defeated Little Rock Central 225-210 in a mild upset in the final playoff round, while Hazen swept the playoff bracket (including a 290-265 comeback win over Batesville in game 1 of an advantaged final) to finish the tournament 10-0 and in first place. Final statistics and standings are public at the tournament page. 

Further northwest, the inaugural Hawgs Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas welcomed a very competitive field headlined by 7A frontrunner Fort Smith Southside. In the finals, Fort Smith Southside defeated Rogers 255-160, claiming their second tournament win of the season. Haas Hall Fayetteville A finished 3rd by virtue of a forfeit in the 3rd place game by upstart Lifeway Christian, who found a way to defeat rival Haas Hall Bentonville A in the first playoff match.

Russellville Preseason Invitational Results -- On Saturday, September 20, 24 teams congregated at Russellville High School for a familiar ritual in Arkansas quizbowl. Russellville's preseason invitational, which has kicked off the Arkansas quizbowl regular season since time immemorial, fielded some of the state's top contenders this year, featuring 7A's top two contenders in FS Southside and ASMSA as well as perennial powers Batesville and Mountain View.

In the Black division, Fort Smith Southside A defeated ASMSA 245-235 in the final. The teams were seeded #1 and #2 in the preliminaries, respectively, with Southside notching the tournament's highest-scoring game by one team in a 480-190 win over 7A rival Rogers. Another perennial 7A contender, Fayetteville, nearly toppled Southside in the final round of prelims, but a challenge from veteran coach Josh Adams scored ten points for FS Southside and they won 315-305, avoiding an overtime period. Other notable results are Conway's 235-195 win over Fayetteville in the playoffs (Fayetteville won this matchup 360-180 in prelims), Batesville's 220-205 win over Benton A in the second round of the playoffs and their 215-210 win over Conway in the 3rd place game, and Rogers Heritage's 305-240 preliminary win over LR Central A (Heritage went 1-5 at last year's Russellville Preseason). The final top four in the Varsity division were:

1.  Southside A (6-0)

2. ASMSA (5-1)

3. Batesville (5-2)

4. Conway (4-3)

In the Red division, Mountain View prevailed over Fort Smith Southside B 195-70 in the finals. Southside B controlled the #1 seed in the playoff bracket after all teams in the JV/Small Schools division preliminaries went either 1-2 or 2-1, but their one loss was a 275-175 decision to Mountain View in the first round of prelims. Little Rock Central B took 3rd place over Conway Christian A, 150-125, after Mountain View took down Conway Christian A 205-160 in the semifinals. The top four in the Red division were:

1. Mountain View (5-1)

2. FS Southside B (4-2)

3. LR Central B (4-2)

4. Conway Christian A (3-3)

Individual stats were not kept; however, if you have yours and would like to send them in, simply contact me or Jackson.

--Michael