By Ethan Liu

The Livingston High School History Bowl Team participated in the Northern New Jersey Fall Regional Tournament in Ridgewood, NJ on November 11, 2023. Sophomores Arav Kaushik, Parik Eda, and Ethan Liu, represented Livingston High School at the competition.

With no upperclassmen players, Livingston qualified for the Junior Varsity National History Bowl Championships in Arlington, Virginia. With a 2-2 record in the preliminary rounds, Livingston scored several upset victories to close out the tournament with a second place finish. When asked about the team’s success, Ethan Liu, the JV team’s captain, credited his team’s “amazing performance and teamwork,” praising their unrelenting optimism and drive to win.

In addition to the team’s Nationals qualification, individual success was also present, with Ethan placing 4th in the individual History Bee and qualifying for the National Championships in that event, to be held alongside History Bowl championships from April 25-28.

As a newly formed club, Livingston History Bowl has seen great success at its first tournament. The club was formed this year by junior Robert Wang and senior Akshaya Shankar, who led an unattached team to win the National History Bowl Varsity Championships in April 2023.

“With our winning record and this early-season performance,” said Robert, reflecting on his team’s growth, “who knows what successes will come next? We’re hoping for a great season and we’re certainly going to work like hell to get one.”

Livingston History Bowl’s next competition will be the New Jersey State Championships, held on January 13 in Ridgewood. “We win these,” said Ethan, repeating an old mantra of his. “No losses.”