JJC Team Takes 2nd in 'Thinkin' Lincoln' College Bowl

The JJC College Bowl Team won second place at the “Thinkin’ Lincoln” invitational tournament on Nov. 22 at Lincolnland Community College in Springfield.

Complete with Jeopardy-style buzzers, JJC team players Jorge Barrios of Plainfield, Anthony Bennett of Plainfield, Pawel Fudala of Romeoville, and Mitch Peal of Morris rattled off answers to trivia questions in six rounds, which added up to hundreds of points before they got their second place title. Both Peal and Barrios received second and third place overall, and were named to the all-star team.

“I’m proud, definitely,” said Barrios. “We have a great team, and it was definitely an accomplishment because everybody was trying their best.”

JJC College Bowl Coach Mike Hainzinger is also very proud of his team’s success.

“In the past four years, this is our best finish yet,” he said. “This win will give them the motivation and confidence to perform well in our state tournament which will take place in April. This group of players here has a lot of chemistry, and they compliment each other well in their areas of knowledge. I expect they will do very well in the state tournament.”

In recent years, Hainzinger said the team has placed third and fourth in the state tournament.

Typically, a tournament consists of a set number of rounds with 20 toss up questions worth 10 points each. When a team buzzes in and gets the answer correct, that team will be asked four bonus questions worth five points each. The students get their own buzzers, and whoever buzzes first on the team has to answer the question.

In addition to the “Thinkin’ Lincoln” tournament, Hainzinger and the team spent the first part of the day touring several Lincoln historic sites in Springfield, such as the Lincoln home, Lincoln’s law office, and the famous Lincoln Depot. They also toured a part of historic Route 66.

“I took the students around to the historical sites. We made it a little more of an educational trip,” Hainzinger said, adding that it was the first time for any of the College Bowl teammates to see these historic sites.

For more information about the JJC College Bowl, e-mail Hainzinger at mhainzin@jjc.edu, or call at 815-280-2841.