Nine of Ventura County’s most knowledgeable school teams met on March 5 in the Buena library to launch the 2025 Knowledge Bowl season, a trivia competition where teams of four face off against rival schools in a battle of wits. After training for months, Buena’s newest set of players came in with a competitive spirit, successfully winning two out of the three rounds and proving themselves a force to be reckoned with.
In past years, Buena has been a dominant force in the Knowledge Bowl field. Advisor Andrew Coates reports that Buena has the most wins in Knowledge Bowl history, a program that’s been running since 1964.
“The last win we had was in 2022, I think the team we’re building this year will be just as good, if not better,” Coates said.
This year, Coates witnessed the highest level of participation in the club’s history at Buena, with over 40 students competing for a spot on the eight-person line up. The most skilled of the bunch were selected, and for the past three months, they trained vigorously.
“They come in two to four times a week and they answer thousands of past years questions so they get used to [the environment],” Coates said.
The competition night began with some words from the judges as they introduced themselves and prefaced the rules: 24 toss-up questions per round worth 10 points each, followed by a bonus question worth 20 points. Meanwhile the nine teams readied to answer copious amounts of trivia questions.
The teams split off into other classrooms for their own rounds, and Buena’s first line took their seats in the library, ready to face off Channel Islands High School in a practice round.
Buena rang in the first buzz of the competition, and took in their first toss up and bonus questions, earning 30 points. Channel Islands and Buena tussled back and forth, with the Bulldogs keeping the lead. The practice round ended quickly, with Buena taking a swift victory.
The official first round began as Camarillo High School’s team shuffled to their seats. A highly competitive team, the Bulldogs readied themselves for a challenge. Camarillo buzzed in the first points, but Buena quickly followed. The Bulldogs found their rhythm, ringing in a five question streak, collecting 80 points and putting them in the lead by halftime 120-85.
Coates caught some errors in some of the toss up questions and challenged the judges, winning his team extra points.
Camarillo came back swinging after the break, getting an impressive six question streak and taking all bonus rounds, ultimately winning them the round, 245-200.
“[This first round] was very thrilling [and] very anxious, but it was a lot of fun,” junior Buena contestant Cole Coyner said.
The Bulldogs shook off their previous loss and looked forward to round two versus Villanova Prep. Buena started with a switch in their line up, winning 60 points within the first few toss up rounds.
Villanova’s smaller team struggled to keep up, drawing multiple penalties from false buzz-ins, extending Buenas lead. The Bulldogs answered questions strongly and consistently, ending the match in a final of 165-75.
Now with confidence from their previous win, the Bulldogs faced a rematch against Channel Islands. The players buzzed in and introduced themselves for the final round, and then they started with Buena earning a four question winning streak within the first half. Channel Islands struggled to answer quick enough, and Buena dominated throughout the round, leaving the Raiders stumped. Round three ended with Buena leading 320-30.
In an unexpected turn of events, when Buena’s fourth-round opponents from Del Sol High School did not show, Coates and the judges invited audience members to compete against Buenas’ team. Alums, teachers and friends eagerly rushed to claim one of the four seats, and the night concluded in a fun, friendly match.
Buena history teacher Spencer Jacobs experienced the Knowledge Bowl for the first time that night and competed against the students. “[Knowledge Bowl] is a fun way to get involved that’s not a traditional sport or activity” Jacobs said, “The camaraderie and fun, competitive nature was a refreshing atmosphere.”
With the first competition jitters out of the way, Buena looks to rise to the occasion and improve from last year, hopefully capturing another title for the school once again.
