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2024 MSNCT RECAP: Mustangs Win First-Ever Playoff Games by Nevada Middle School; Wildcats Make Nationals Debut
Eventually, the state of Nevada is going to run out of firsts at National Championships, but that'll have to wait for at least another year. Combining their forces to field four teams, The Meadows and Lone Mountain represented the Silver State at the NAQT Middle School National Championship Tournament on Mother's Day weekend. Expectations ranged greatly for all four teams, and all four teams came away with valuable progress to help their programs build into the future. The entire effort was highlighted by Meadows A making their first-ever playoffs in school history.
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SATURDAY PRELIMS RECAPMeadows A
Of the 3 Meadows teams to compete, the A squad had to shoulder most of the pressure. The majority of their core (Elliot Lefebvre, Sophia Gallardo, Winston Luh; all 7th graders) went 4-4 last year in prelims during their first appearance. For this year's run, they added 6th grader William Russman and 8th grader Liam Davenport. This time, given how well they performed all season, playoffs was seen as a realistic expectation. After 3 games, though, making good on those expectations would require a difficult grind. The Mustangs sat at 1-2 after winning their first round against Yongsan International (Seoul, South Korea) but dropping the next two to Greenhill A (TX) and White Station (TN). The Greenhill loss was mostly expected. The White Station loss was terribly disappointing because it was a largely self-inflicted loss. Thankfully for the Mustangs, the lunch break came after just 3 games. After regrouping, the focus for the afternoon was not to go 4-1 but to try and go 1-0 4 times. They started their next slate with a 480-160 win over Wayzata Central B (MN). They practically repeated the feat with a 460-135 win over Perry (OH). Now at 3-2, the climb was halfway done. An unfortunate loss to Detroit Country Day (MI) came next (365-250), which meant the Mustangs would have to play 2 elimination games just to reach Sunday. Again, they looked at the situation not as needing to go 2-0 but 1-0 2 times. The first hurdle was Columbia Independent A (MO). A tight first half saw the Mustangs take a 175-125 halftime lead. The second half was a showcase of stamina that allowed Meadows to pull away steadily and win 335-135. One hurdle down, one to go. The final test for a Sunday spot was a familiar foe from the HS side of things--St. Mark's School of Texas. Drawing their B team, the Mustangs resigned themselves to the fact that this playoff berth would have to be well and truly earned against a top program. With the moment staring them squarely in the face, Meadows A turned in their finest performance of the season. They led 200-40 at halftime, traded tossups for about the next 6 cycles, then clinched the berth by taking 7 of the last 8 cycles, puncutated by powers from Lefebvre, Gallardo, and Russman. For the first time ever, the Mustangs would play on Sunday. They defeated St. Mark's B 455-155. Meadows B The goals for this group were simple: 1. Play well, and 2. Gain valuable experience for the future. For Georgia Lowry (7th), Cadence Luh (7th), Leo Shrotri (7th), Sahil Wadhwa (6th), and Clara Tsang (6th), it was mission accomplished. Just like their teammates on Meadows A, they also faced a moment of adversity about halfway through the day. After a disappointing 285-200 loss to Columbia Independent B (MO), the Mustangs sat at 2-4. Most of the loss was due to unlucky bonus conversion. Meadows B took a moment to regroup and remind themselves of listening to the limiting noun in the tossups. They responded fantastically with a near wire-to-wire victory over Wayzata Central A (MN), 280-240. Then they saved their best in-game strategy for last in their final match of the day against St. Rita (TX). After trading the lead for several tossups, the Mustangs took a 50-point lead after T18 and forced St. Rita to call a timeout. The Mustangs studied the remaining categories and immediately figured out the best likelihood for what was coming next. Their gamble hit big. Right out of the timeout, Lowry scored a buzzer race 10 followed by a 30 on the bonus to go up 90. By then, there wasn't enough time on the clock for St. Rita to come back. Meadows B closed out the day with a very satisfying 4-4 record and a 260-240 victory. Meadows C Just like Meadows B, the goals were the same for this crew as well--play well and gain experience. This crew was the only one with 5 first-timers, though. For Jackson Sandoval (7th), Zareena Khan (8th), Kayleb Hague (6th), Chase Park (7th), and Luca Thompson (7th), the result was a pass with flying colors. Their best games of the day came in the morning session. The Mustangs chalked up 2 excellent wins against Providence (MN) and Immaculate Conception St. Joseph B (IL), with Hague leading the way on tossups. He was equaled in impact by the rest of the veterans on this team, who put up some of their finest bonus conversion (a continuation of their state championship appearance). In the afternoon, Meadows C ran up against a series of teams that were just more experienced. That happens a lot to teams made up of all first-timers. Thurgood Marshall (IL), Greenhill B (TX), and Williamston B (MI) are all top-notch programs and showed why. For the final game of the day, though, the Mustangs didn't let it bother them and looked to finish on something positive. Their stamina held up incredibly well against Edgewood B (MN). Leading 190-140 after T17, the Mustangs forced a timeout from Edgewater B. On the immediate resumption of play, Hague took a quick 10 followed by a 30 bonus. Then, on the final tossup of the game, Khan powered it to ice the win. It was almost a near carbon copy of the sequence from their state semifinal victory, just without the chasedown. With no experience, the Mustangs finished with a highly respectable 3-5 record. Lone Mountain Lone Mountain made history of its own by making their first-ever appearance at MSNCT. After the Wildcats put together their best season in program history, any appearance at this tournament was a worthy prize. Even though the Wildcats finished 0-8, they did so with a limited roster who played well in spite of those setbacks. The upstart Wildcats fielded veterans Claire Newell (8th), Johnathan Richmond (8th), and Ethan Volle (8th) as well as rookies Jasmine Augusto (6th) and Layla Stratton (6th). One of the highest points of the day came from Stratton, who powered T11 in the final match of the day against University School (OH). Getting any tossups for power at Nationals is impressive, especially when it's a 6th grader against this field. Make no mistake, no team wants to go 8-0. However, there are several other teams in the LVQBA who would've gladly traded spots with Lone Mountain. Getting to the top 160, especially given how crowded the MS division was this season, is harder than it's ever been since the league started in 2016. For Lone Mountain, this experience was critical for their program's growth, regardless of the outcome. Look for them to put some very valuable lessons into play next season. |
THE MEADOWS
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SUNDAY PLAYOFFS RECAP
Coming into the playoffs, only one other team from Nevada had ever made it to Sunday at MSNCT--Hyde Park MS (led by Clark alum Eshaan Vakil). However, in 2 visits to the playoffs, Hyde Park never won a match. For Meadows, they had a chance to become the first ever team from Nevada to advance past the first rounds in the double elimination format.
Sunday at MSNCT is unique from the other NCTs because it's the only one where the question difficulty increases for the playoffs. However, for the past 4 months, the Mustangs had been practicing exclusively on high school difficulty for this very moment. Now that the Mustangs were playing on harder questions with longer tossups, it was time to see if all of the heavy lifting had paid off.
It sure did.
The Mustangs earned the #33 seed and drew #32 Noe (KY) in the first game of the day. The Mustangs took the lead on T6 and never looked back the rest of the way, converting on 4 of 5 Noe negs to build a huge 280-75 lead by T17. Just like yesterday's run, the balance was there again. After a mini-run from Noe, the Mustangs relaxed and calmly bled the clock to finish out a 285-185 victory and the first ever playoff win for any team from Nevada at MSNCT.
In their second match, they drew the #1 team in the country, Middlesex A (CT). Against tough odds, the Mustangs fought back after an early punch and actually took a lead at halftime, 140-125. In the second half, Middlesex A finally woke up and won 350-250. Nothing to be upset about for the Mustangs. The Middlesex program has been one of the best in the country for quite some time now.
With one loss left to burn, the Mustangs faced off against Old Donation (VA), who were making their first apperance at the tournament. Once again, after taking an early hit, the Mustangs went on a mini-run, punctuated by a history tossup where Lefebvre eked out the answer just before time. Old Donation considered a protest but eventually withdrew it. From there, the Mustangs took 4 of the next 5 and never gave back the lead. The second half featured the most dominant half of the day for Meadows A, as they secured the tossup battle 7-3. After bleeding the clock out, the Mustangs won 320-185, securing a guaranteed top-25 finish.
The reward for winning that game was the #9 seed, Challenger-Strawberry Park A (CA). Despite a valiant effort, this opponent was simply too balanced to take down. Even though the season ended with a 420-195 defeat, Meadows A capped off the day with a tie for 21st place, easily the highest finish for any Nevada team at MSNCT. With the entire core returning next year, the expectations will deservedly be sky-high for this squad.
The LVQBA wishes to congratulate all of the Nevada representatives at this year's NCTs. They have elevated the quality of play in the Silver State greatly, and the national profile of our state continues to grow because of their hard work. We can't say enough about all of these phenomenal students.
Sunday at MSNCT is unique from the other NCTs because it's the only one where the question difficulty increases for the playoffs. However, for the past 4 months, the Mustangs had been practicing exclusively on high school difficulty for this very moment. Now that the Mustangs were playing on harder questions with longer tossups, it was time to see if all of the heavy lifting had paid off.
It sure did.
The Mustangs earned the #33 seed and drew #32 Noe (KY) in the first game of the day. The Mustangs took the lead on T6 and never looked back the rest of the way, converting on 4 of 5 Noe negs to build a huge 280-75 lead by T17. Just like yesterday's run, the balance was there again. After a mini-run from Noe, the Mustangs relaxed and calmly bled the clock to finish out a 285-185 victory and the first ever playoff win for any team from Nevada at MSNCT.
In their second match, they drew the #1 team in the country, Middlesex A (CT). Against tough odds, the Mustangs fought back after an early punch and actually took a lead at halftime, 140-125. In the second half, Middlesex A finally woke up and won 350-250. Nothing to be upset about for the Mustangs. The Middlesex program has been one of the best in the country for quite some time now.
With one loss left to burn, the Mustangs faced off against Old Donation (VA), who were making their first apperance at the tournament. Once again, after taking an early hit, the Mustangs went on a mini-run, punctuated by a history tossup where Lefebvre eked out the answer just before time. Old Donation considered a protest but eventually withdrew it. From there, the Mustangs took 4 of the next 5 and never gave back the lead. The second half featured the most dominant half of the day for Meadows A, as they secured the tossup battle 7-3. After bleeding the clock out, the Mustangs won 320-185, securing a guaranteed top-25 finish.
The reward for winning that game was the #9 seed, Challenger-Strawberry Park A (CA). Despite a valiant effort, this opponent was simply too balanced to take down. Even though the season ended with a 420-195 defeat, Meadows A capped off the day with a tie for 21st place, easily the highest finish for any Nevada team at MSNCT. With the entire core returning next year, the expectations will deservedly be sky-high for this squad.
The LVQBA wishes to congratulate all of the Nevada representatives at this year's NCTs. They have elevated the quality of play in the Silver State greatly, and the national profile of our state continues to grow because of their hard work. We can't say enough about all of these phenomenal students.
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