It was a 20-question lightning round that ran the gamut from the definition of canonization to the accomplishments of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

And it brought grimaces, eyes rolled upward, sighs of relief and finally smiles of joy as Symmes Valley took the season’s Lawrence County Junior High OVAC Quiz Bowl Tournament Wednesday afternoon.

It was an upset victory over Fairland, the defending champion whose team last year had tied for the win with Chesapeake.

However, the post tourney celebration was cut way short as the junior high students just had time for a quick victory photo. Then it was a sprint to the waiting school bus.

Briefly team member Carlos Aquinaga summed up the mood of his fellow competitors.

“Speechless,” he said.

The reason for the win, Aquinaga believed was, “we had confidence,” he said.

Competition began at 9 Wednesday morning in an almost day-long double elimination tournament with teams made up of middle school students from the eight county districts.

In most schools coaches held tryouts for the teams in mid-October, looking for competitors with a wide-range of knowledge, quick recall and the ability to think under pressure.

As the team from Fairland, which came to the tournament with a 14-0 record, waited its turn, members took a break from playing academic games to playing games of ping pong in the OUS break room.

This was the first time Miranda Hayes, a Fairland eighth grader, had competed in the tournament and was finding the experience just what she was expecting.

“I was expecting to have fun and it is more fun than anything,” she said.

It was also the first for Hannah Stevenson, a Fairland seventh grader, who said it was the camaraderie that she enjoyed.

“We are like a big family,” she said.

Terry Montgomery, the Chesapeake TAG teacher and Quiz Bowl coach, believes the experience has some lifelong benefits for her students along with the obvious short-term ones.

“They get to showcase their academic abilities. Those with sports abilities get to showcase that all the time. This is their chance,” Montgomery said. “It is my hope they will be lifelong learners because knowledge is power. That is what I tell them all the time.”