- Welcome to the studios of WCMU Public Media.

This time, our first semi-final match, and that's between Interlochen Arts Academy and Traverse City Central, we'll have it for you coming up next.

(rousing music) Hello again everyone, I'm David Nicholas, and welcome to our first semi-final of this season 21.

This time, students from Interlochen Arts Academy taking on the team from Traverse City Central in a 16-team single-elimination tournament.

The top teams from "Quiz Central" will qualify for the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament.

And now let's get to our game, our first round is the Maroon and Gold Rush.

Teams will have two minutes to answer as many toss-up questions as they can.

If a team answers incorrectly, the opposing school has the opportunity to answer that question.

Teams may not consult during this round.

Players will receive a one-second penalty if they ring in before a toss-up has been read completely, and that'll be indicated by an orange light above their name.

Answers are worth 10 points, and there is no deduction for incorrect answers.

All set, players?

Here comes your first question: what country is currently led by Ahmed al-Rashaa, who captured the cities of Homs and Aleppo on his way to overthrowing Bashar al-Assad in Damascus?

(buzzer chimes) - Syria?

(bell chimes) - [David] That is correct.

Nobel Prize winners Paul Lauterbur and Pete Mansfield helped develop what imaging technique that uses radio waves and magnetic fields to make images?

(buzzer chimes) - MRIs?

- [David] That's also correct.

What state, which hosts the world's largest balloon festival, is home to White Sands National Park and contains the cities of Santa Fe and Albuquerque?

(buzzer chimes) - New Mexico.

- Correct.

Politician and general Arthur Wellesley is better known as the duke of what place?

(buzzer chimes) - Wellington.

- [David] Correct.

What film, in which Denzel Washington plays the usurper Macrinus, is a 2024 sequel directed by Ridley Scott that depicts combat in ancient Rome?

(buzzer chimes) - "Gladiator II."

- [David] Correct.

What author wrote about hooligans called droogs who speak the fictional language Nadsat in his novel "A Clockwork Orange"?

(buzzer chimes) - Erm... Damn.

Huxley?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect, Interlochen with a guess?

(buzzer chimes) - Pinkerton?

(bell blares) - [David] Also incorrect, back to a toss-up for both.

What material, to which tension is applied via keying, is a type of fabric stretched across a wooden frame by artists, who make paintings on it?

(buzzer chimes) - Canvas.

- That's correct.

The Chateau Lake Louise is a luxurious hotel in what oldest national park in Canada, which is in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta?

(bell chimes) We come to the end of that round, we did not get to that answer there, and we'll check the ones that were missed in that round, starting with the question we just did not get to, excuse me: the Chateau Lake Louise, we were looking for the Banff National Park.

The author who wrote about the hooligans, we were looking for Anthony Burgess.

And the first round ends with a 30 to 30 tie, but before we start the next round, let's learn a little bit more about our students competing today.

We say hello first of all to the students from Interlochen Arts Academy.

- My name is Oliver Chen, I'm a senior at Interlochen and I play guitar.

- My name is Sebastian, I'm a senior at Interlochen, and I'm a creative writer.

- My name is Jimmy, I'm a junior at Interlochen, and I study composition.

- My name is Alex, I'm a junior, and I study creative writing at Interlochen.

- Thank you Interlochen, and now let's say hello to the students from Traverse City Central.

- My name's Dawson, I'm a senior at Traverse City Central, I run track and I'm part of the pickleball club at our school.

- I'm Henry, I'm a senior, and I play the oboe and the clarinet.

- My name is Arthur Lijewski-Lee, I'm a senior at Central High School, I'm co-captain of the debate team and I'm the penultimate finisher in the Iceman Cometh Challenge.

- I'm Helly, I'm a senior at Traverse City Central.

- A big thanks to all of our students here today, and our next round today is the Kickoff.

This round includes a combination of toss-up and bonus questions.

The team that correctly answers the toss-up will get the opportunity to answer a single bonus question.

There's no stealing on the bonuses.

After a bonus, we'll go back to a toss-up for both teams.

Players do receive that one-second penalty if they ring in before the toss-up has been read completely.

Players and buzzers ready?

Let's go, here comes your first question: what politician succeeded Hannibal Hamlin as vice president, and later became the first president to be impeached during his 1865 to 1869 tenure?

(buzzer chimes) - Andrew Johnson.

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, bonus for Traverse City: Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius defined acids as proton donors and bases as species that form what other ion?

- Electron?

- Is it anion?

- Anion?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect, we'll go back to a toss-up for both teams: what devices, which empennages may have static wicks on their trailing edge, cause stalls at high angles of attack and provide lift to planes?

(buzzer chimes) - Wings?

(bell chimes) - [David] That is correct, and a bonus for Traverse City: what area of London provides the name of the mean time that forms the basis for coordinating universal time?

- Greenwich.

- [David] Correct there as well.

Toss-up for both teams: what Southern author wrote about Vardaman, who claims, "My mother is a fish," and Cash, who builds Addie Bundren's coffin in the novel "As I Lay Dying"?

(buzzer chimes) - Faulkner.

(bell chimes) - [David] That's correct, bonus for Interlochen: in what Southern city were four young girls murdered in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church by the Ku Klux Klan?

- Birmingham?

- Birmingham.

- Birmingham.

- [David] Birmingham is correct there on the bonus.

Toss-up for both: what tribe, that controlled most of North Africa from A.D.

435 to 534, sacked Rome under King Gaiseric in 455, and lends its name to acts of destruction?

(buzzer chimes) - Vandal?

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, bonus for Interlochen: what French sociologist posted egoistic and anomic forms of the title act in his pioneering 1897 study "Suicide"?

- Forms of?

- Is it Sartre?

- Who's the sociologist?

(buzzer chimes) - Answer?

- Sartre?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect, toss-up now for both teams: Stephanie Kwolek discovered what para-aramid polymer with a high tensile strength to weight ratio that makes it useful in bulletproof vests?

(buzzer chimes) - Kevlar.

(bell chimes) - [David] That's correct, bonus for Traverse City: what British author of the comic spy novel "Our Man in Havana" described the persecution of a Mexican whisky priest in his book "The Power and the Glory"?

- Ian FlemIng?

- Sure.

Fleming?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect there on that bonus.

Toss-up now for both teams again: what state, which is home to a new NHL team named the Mammoth, is nicknamed the Beehive State, and includes the cities of Provo and Salt Lake City?

(buzzer chimes) - Utah.

(bell chimes) - [David] That's correct, bonus question for you now: the sphincter of Oddi controls the flow of bile into what first section of the small intestine, which precedes the jejunum and ileum?

- Gallbladder?

- Duodenum?

- I like that better.

- Defer to Arthur.

- Duodenum?

- [David] Duodenum is correct.

Toss-up for both: what British author wrote about a plague survived by Lionel in "The Last Man," and describes Victor's creation of an artificial life form in "Frankenstein"?

(buzzer chimes) - Mary Shelley.

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, bonus for Interlochen now: a basket of fruit and bread spills over in what Edouard Manet painting, in which two men converse while their nude female friends look at the viewer?

- Erm, the bathing?

- They're in a park.

- "Bathing in the Park"?

"Bathing"?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect there, toss-up for both: what devices, which name a vaporization cutting technique, have a gas variety that includes a helium-neon type and emit coherent light as a beam?

(buzzer chimes) - Lasers.

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, bonus for you: what country singer released the 2025 album "I'm the Problem," which produced the hit singles "Lies, Lies, Lies" and "Love Somebody"?

- Does that mean the United States?

- I can't think of a single, Dolly Parton?

- Answer?

- Dolly Parton?

- No, the country.

- Incorrect.

And we're at the end of that round, let's take a look back to the questions that stumped both teams here today: the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius, we were looking for hydroxide, that was the form of the other ion, the French sociologist we were looking for was David Emile Durkheim, the British author of the comic spy novel, we were looking for Henry Graham Greene, the basket of fruit and bread in the Manet painting, "Luncheon on the Grass," and the country singer we were looking for was Morgan Wallen.

The end of our Kickoff Round, we've still got a great game going, Traverse City Central leads 90 to 80 over Interlochen, and coming up next, the Perfect Ten.

In the Perfect Ten, teams will have 60 seconds to answer questions from a choice of clues to three categories.

The opposing team then has 30 seconds to answer any unasked, incorrect, or skipped questions.

You can consult throughout the entire round, we'll take the answers from the captain.

The team that's trailing will get the first choice to pick a clue to a category today.

Traverse City with a slight lead over Interlochen, so Interlochen trailing, you get the first choice from these three categories: notable novel, quick Q&A, or sweet emotion?

Again, that's notable novel, quick Q&A, or sweet emotion?

- Do we wanna answer questions that have Q's and A's in them?

'Cause I don't.

- Did that say notable novel?

- Notable novel.

- [Sebastian] Maybe Q&A's more general.

- I think we should do novel.

- Go for notable novels.

- Yeah, notable novels, please.

- [David] Notable novel, you're gonna go with that?

All right.

The clue for notable novel is "The Great Gatsby."

Answer the following about the novel "The Great Gatsby."

Again, we're looking at "The Great Gatsby" specifically, answer the following about the novel "The Great Gatsby."

Your part of the Perfect Ten starts with this, and 60 seconds on the clock, as we get started: Jazz age decade when the book was written?

- The '20s.

(bell chimes) - [David] The book's author?

- Fitzgerald.

(bell chimes) - [David] The book's narrator, who is Daisy's second cousin once removed.

- Carraway.

(bell chimes) - [David] Gatsby's first name?

- Jay?

(bell chimes) - [David] Color of the dock light that symbolizes Gatsby's dreams?

- Green.

(bell chimes) - [David] University that the narrator and Tom Buchanan attended?

- Princeton?

- I guess.

- Princeton?

(bell blares) - [David] Sport that Jordan Baker excels at?

- Football.

- Football?

(bell blares) - [David] Three-word term for the huge dumping ground near the Wilsons' home?

- Egg?

Egg.

(bell blares) - [David] Specific place in Gatsby's estate where Gatsby dies?

- The pool.

(bell chimes) - [David] Gatsby's gangster associate who fixed the World Series?

- Oh, pass.

(bell blares) - [David] And we get to the end of that round.

All right, Traverse City Central, we're coming to you with 30 seconds to pick up as many that were not answered or answered incorrectly, any left over at the end.

Again, the category is notable novel, the clue, "The Great Gatsby."

Answer the following about the novel "The Great Gatsby."

With 30 seconds for you, we start with this: university that the narrator and Tom Buchanan attended?

- Harvard?

(bell blares) - [David] Sport that Jordan Baker excels at?

- Baseball?

(bell blares) - [David] Three-word term for the huge dumping ground near the Wilsons' home?

- Oh, I've no idea.

- The big pit?

(bell blares) - [David] Gatsby's gangster associate who fixed the World Series?

- Al?

(bell blares) - [David] We get to the end there of your 30 seconds, let's check those that were missed by both teams: the university we were looking for, we had some close guesses, Yale was where we were headed for that, the sport that Jordan Baker excels at is golf, the three-word term for the dumping ground, Valley of Ashes, and the gangster associate, Meyer Wolfsheim.

Okay, Traverse City, we now come to your half leading in the Perfect Ten here, and again, two categories remaining, your choice of quick Q&A or sweet emotion?

- I don't know what sweet emotion is.

- [Arthur] Quick Q&A would be better because I don't understand sweet emotion.

- Quick Q&A.

- [David] Quick Q&A is your choice, the clue here, short Q&A, give these four or five-letter words that contain at least one Q and one A, in either order.

Again, short Q&A, give these four or five-letter words that contain at least one Q and one A, in either order.

And your 60 seconds in the Perfect Ten will start with this: sound a duck makes?

- Quack.

(bell chimes) - [David] Exactly the same as?

- Equal.

- Equal.

(bell chimes) - [David] Country once led by Saddam Hussein?

- Iraq.

(bell chimes) - [David] Latin word for water?

- Aqua?

(bell chimes) - [David] Country whose capital is Doha?

- Qatar.

(bell chimes) - [David] Abbreviated term for muscles at the front of the upper leg?

- Quads.

- Quads.

(bell chimes) - [David] Small game bird with Montezuma and Japanese species?

- Quail.

(bell chimes) - [David] Structure parallel to a shore from which boats are loaded?

- Query?

- Query?

(bell blares) - [David] Prefix meaning nearly or seemingly?

- Quasi.

- Quasi.

(bell chimes) - [David] To rapidly drink something?

- Quaiff.

- Quaiff?

- Quaff.

- Quaff?

(bell chimes) - [David] Got to the end there not able to get to the last of those clues.

All right, Interlochen, a few that you can possibly pick up on with your 30 seconds now.

Again, short Q&A, give these four or five-letter words that contain at least one Q and one A, in either order.

Your 30 seconds starts with this: structure parallel to a shore from which boats are loaded?

- Quay?

(bell chimes) - And after three rounds, Traverse City Central holds a 30-point lead as we enter the Homestretch.

In the Homestretch, I'll ask a combination of toss-up and bonus questions.

The team that correctly answers the toss-up will get the opportunity to answer a single bonus question.

There's no stealing on the bonuses.

After a bonus question, we'll go back to a toss-up for both teams.

Players will receive a one-second penalty if they ring in before the toss-up question has been read completely.

Buzzers ready?

Take a deep breath, here comes your first question: what quantum principle, stating that no two fermions can share identical quantum numbers, can be applied to pairs of electrons in an atom?

(buzzer chimes) - Erm, Pauli exclusionary principle?

(buzzer chimes) - [David] That's correct, bonus for Traverse City Central: what war, which was investigated by one side's Argonaut Commission, began when Egyptian forces crossed the Suez Canal during a Jewish holy day in 1973?

- Yom Kippur War.

- [David] That's correct, toss-up now for both: Dara Khosrowshahi is the CEO of what company, which ended its experiments with self-driving technology under its co-founder Travis Kalanick?

(buzzer chimes) - Tesla?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect, toss-up for both.

Sorry, Interlochen, you get a shot at that.

(buzzer chimes) - Uber?

(bell chimes) - [David] That is correct, now to the bonus: in 2025, what federal agency, led by Lee Zeldin, reversed its longstanding declaration that methane and other greenhouse gases threaten public health?

- The EPA.

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct there on the bonus.

Now to the toss-up again for both: an invasion of Korea known as the Imjin War was launched by what second of Japan's great unifiers, who was followed by Tokugawa Ieyasu?

(buzzer chimes) - Hideyoshi?

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, bonus now for Interlochen: what identifiers have reserved blocks that start with 10 and 192.168, and are four-part addresses used to identify devices on a network?

- IP addresses.

(bell chimes) - [David] That is also correct.

Toss-up question, both teams: what phenomenon names a novel by Orhan Pamuk, a type of country in a novel by Yasunari Kawabata, and a crash in the title of the Neal Stephenson novel?

(buzzer chimes) - Depression?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect, Interlochen with a guess?

(buzzer chimes) - Poverty?

- [David] Can you say it again, please?

- Poverty.

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect there as well.

Back to a toss-up for both: what Englishman wrote, "No cross, no crown," while jailed in the Tower of London, and founded namesake colony for Quakers governed from Philadelphia?

(buzzer chimes) - Penn.

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, bonus for Interlochen: dichloromethane, or CH2Cl2, has what property because its bonds result in a separation of positive and negative charge centers?

- Polar?

Polarity?

- Polarity?

- [David] Correct there as well.

Toss-up for both schools now: what author, whose novel "In Dubious Battle" depicts a strike in California, wrote about George Milton's killing of his friend Lennie in "Of Mice and Men"?

(buzzer chimes) - Steinbeck.

- [David] Correct, and the bonus question now: Gerlach, in the High Tetras, is the highest point in which mountain range of Eastern Europe, which forms a large bend in Romania.

- Carpathian Mountains.

- Carpathians.

(bell chimes) - [David] Also correct.

Toss-up for both schools: what city, whose Bixiga neighborhood was once a hub for Italian migrants, is the most populous city in Brazil, and is named after St.

Paul?

(buzzer chimes) - Sao Paulo.

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, and the bonus for Traverse City: while dying greaser Johnny Cade tells Ponyboy Curtis to stay gold in what young adult novel written in the 1960s by teenager S.E.

Hinton?

- "The Outsiders."

(bell chimes) - [David] That is correct.

Toss-up for both: what country, whose independence was recognized by the Treaty of Cordoba, began fighting Spain after the Grito de Dolores issued by Miguel Hidalgo?

(buzzer chimes) - Mexico?

(bell chimes) - [David] Correct, and the bonus for you: Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean after sailing down what West Coast river, which meets the Willamette River in Portland?

- The Snake?

- Try it.

- The Snake?

(bell blares) - Incorrect there.

(bell chimes) And we get to the end of that round, we're close.

Let's go back over the questions that were missed on both: the phenomenon in the novel by Orhan Pamuk, we were looking for snow, Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific Ocean after sailing down the river, the Columbia River was the one we were looking for there.

And we've got a good one for you this time, folks, we are all tied at 230 apiece, with the final round to play, the Final Countdown.

Teams will have two minutes to answer as many toss-up questions as they can, and if a team answers incorrectly, the opposing school has an opportunity to answer that question.

Teams may not consult during this round, and players will receive a one-second penalty if they ring in before the toss-up question has been read completely.

That'll be indicated by the orange light above their name.

An appearance in the "Quiz Central" Grand Championship game awaits the winner.

Buzzers ready?

Here comes your first question: what term describes non-native species introduced to an ecosystem that spread rapidly and cause ecological or economic harm?

(buzzer chimes) - Invasive.

(bell chimes) - [David] That's correct.

What country, whose flag and coat of arms both depict a soapstone bird, was once called Rhodesia, and is an African country governed from Harare?

(buzzer chimes) - Zimbabwe.

- [David] Correct.

Gambling dominates the economy of what special administrative region that was handed over from Portugal to China in 1999?

(buzzer chimes) - Macao.

- [David] Correct.

What veteran of Campaldino, who was exiled in the Black Guelphs, wrote "La Vita Nuova" about his love for Beatrice, who helped inspire his "Divine Comedy"?

(buzzer chimes) - Dante.

(bell chimes) - [David] Dante is correct.

What religion, founded in Jamaica by poor black communities, believes in Africa as a spiritual homeland and follows the ital diet?

(buzzer chimes) - Rastafarianism.

- [David] That's correct.

What composer, whose third symphony is nicknamed "The Organ Symphony," wrote movements like "Fossils" and "The Swan" for "The Carnival of the Animals"?

(buzzer chimes) - Saint-Saens.

- [David] Correct.

Next question: Gertrude Stein detailed her years living in Paris in an autobiography of what other woman, Stein's lover and life partner?

(buzzer chimes) - Simone de Beauvoir?

(bell blares) - [David] Incorrect, Interlochen with a guess?

(buzzer chimes) - Josephine Baker?

(bell blares) - [David] Also incorrect.

Toss-up for both: Dobson units measure concentrations of what molecule, destroyed by CFCs, and concentrated in a layer of the stratosphere that has a molecular formula O3?

(buzzer chimes) - Ozone.

(bell chimes) - Ozone is correct, let's check the answers here that were missed in both.

Gertrude Stein, the book we were looking for, or the other individual was Alice B. Toklas.

That ends that round, ends that game, it's about as close as we could get: Interlochen 270, Traverse City 260.

Let's have a great round for both of our teams today.

(players applaud) Okay, great job by all of you today, it was a real exciting game.

And Traverse City Central, thanks so much for competing with us, a great run this year on 'Quiz Central.'

Interlochen, congratulations to you, you will be back for our championship round.

And we'll see you right back here for our second semi-final, that'll be between Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart and White Cloud.

(smooth music)