By Sarah Leung

Game 2 (St. Augustine vs. Toronto Montessori School)

This past week, on Thursday, May 6th, the Junior Reach for the Top team had their second game against one of the hardest schools to beat, Toronto Montessori School (TMS). It was an intense game and all the players and audience members were on the edge of their seats. 

The first round started off tough with TMS in the lead with 110 to 80 points. Unfortunately, they stayed ahead for the next round, leading with 210 to St. A’s 150. After a back and forth final round, sadly TMS took the win ending the game at 310 to 230.

Despite this loss, the St. Augustine Junior members fought hard and strong. Shoutout to Ananiya Narmathan who scored some amazing points nearing the end of the game, which brought the team closer to their opponents. Along with that, St. A answered some of the toughest questions ranging from cells to spelling, and even questions on musicals. 

Good job to all the members who played this game: Divij Dhoofar, Ananiya Narmathan, Gavin Ge, and Sylvia Treki! An additional thanks to the Reach for the Top coaches: Ms. Christina Iorio and Mr. Albert Nazareth!

Good luck on the next game!

Game 3 (St. Augustine vs. Neil McNeil)

The Junior Reach for the Top team had their third game of the tournament, and it is safe to say that it was one of the most intense games yet. They were up against Neil McNeil High School, but St. Augustine managed to pull through.

It was a shaky start — McNeil took the lead, ending round one with 90 to 60. The players were feeling the pressure, but knew they still had time to catch up. Finishing round two, St. A was still behind by just 30 points, with the score being 150 to 120. Finally, the last round — the most fierce round the team has ever played — all the St. A players were powering through the last few questions, until there was a stop in the game! Due to technical difficulties, there was a quick break which left everyone on a cliffhanger. Luckily, it was resolved quickly and the final questions were delivered. Despite that setback, St. Augustine raced ahead, leaving Neil McNeil in the dust. The team won the game 250 to 210!

Good job to everyone who was playing: Divij Dhoofar, Ananiya Narmathan, Diego Verdin Ramirez, and Gavin Ge! They all did an amazing job defeating McNeil. Some of the highlights of the game: a 20 point “Who Am I” question was landed by Diego Rodriguez on Buddy Holly, and Gavin Ge zooming in with the math equation questions.

Game 4 (St. Augustine vs. Villanova)

The Junior Reach for the Top team thought their last game versus McNeil was intense, but they were in for a big surprise. The second game of the week was against St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School and truly had the players’ hearts pumping.

In the first round, Villanova was in the lead, with a score of 60 points to St. A’s 50. The team knew they had time to catch up, but by the second round, it was looking a little tight with Villanova’s 150 to St. A’s 120. During the last round, the score was rapidly fluctuating, alternating between Villanova and St. A’s taking the lead. Finally, in the last few minutes of the game, both teams were at a tie of 230, with only one question left. A huge shoutout to Gavin Ge who answered the final question — finding the area of a triangle — and secured St. Augustine’s victory!

St. A’s team once again showed true perseverance and trivia skills. Great job to the whole team: Gavin Ge, Divij Dhoofar, Sarah Leung, and Gwen Yu! Another thanks to the teacher mentors: Ms. Christina Iorio and Mr. Albert Nazareth!

Good luck next week! Keep fighting for the win!

Game 5 (St. Augustine vs. Armitage)

After a streak of very intense games, St. Augustine played against Armitage Village Public School and won by a huge margin. At the start of the game, St. Augustine was charging through the questions and accumulated many points. The end of round one finished with a score of 100 points to 10, with St. A’s in the lead. This trend continued on for the rest of the game. The Titans finished round two with 190 points to Armitage’s 10. For the final round, St. A’s prevailed and won the game at 300 to 20, leaving AVPS in the dust!

Some highlights from the game were the two team questions captured by St. Augustine on trigonometry and tennis. Another great achievement were the many questions answered by Divij Dhoofar, due to his knowledge of many Academy Award winners. It was a great confidence booster for St. Augustine, and they will be playing in the semi-finals this Thursday against DeLaSalle High School.

Congratulations to everyone who played: Divij Dhoofar, Diego Verdin Ramirez, Sylvia Treki, and Gavin Ge! A special thanks to the teacher mentors: Ms. Christina Iorio and Mr. Albert Nazareth!

Good luck, practice hard, and make it to the finals!

Game 6: Semi Finals (St. Augustine vs. De La Salle)

Throughout this tournament, St. Augustine has faced some challenging opponents, but this game truly was one for the record books against De La Salle High School (DLS). The game began with St. Augustine falling behind by the end of the first round, the score being a grim 120 points to 60. With that score difference, tension had already begun to build. In the second round, that gap closed a bit more, but DLS was still in the lead with 140 points to 120. By the final round, the teams got to an incredibly rare tie, with a score of 210 points for both opponents. The Titans were kept on their toes as they went through another 10 tie breaker questions with no points being scored on each side. Finally, on the 11th question, Ananiya Narmathan took the win for St. A on a question about Monopoly!

That was an intense game and despite all the setbacks, St. A’s pulled through and is making it to the finals! There were some great questions asked, ranging from government levels to islands to badminton. 

Great job to everyone who played: Divij Dhoofar, Gavin Ge, Ananiya Narmathan, and Diego Verdin Ramirez! Of course, another thanks to our amazing Reach coaches Ms. Christina Iorio and Mr. Albert Nazareth! Good luck to the whole team in the finals against one of the hardest teams to beat: TMS!