For the second year in a row, the Bayless High School Scholar Bowl team has come away with the title of Class 4 state champions.

“Last year we had no expectations, so (the students) were very excited when we won, because we didn’t expect to win,” Bayless Scholar Bowl coach Bob Efken said. “This year, they were less excited and more nervous, because they were very anxious to try to repeat.”

The state championship for Scholar Bowl — a competitive, academic trivia competition — took place on May 9 in Columbia, Missouri. Bayless’s four starters, affectionately known as “The Fab Four,” showed up ready to compete: junior and team captain Nolan Carstens, sophomore Jacob Darnell, junior Remi Schrader and junior Elmedin Karamovic.

According to Efken, the competition came down to the final question. He said that team morale had to stay high to grapple with how neck-and-neck the championship was; this involved the students’ fair share of high-fives and cheering when they won points.

“These were very good teams we played against, and everything was very close,” Efken said. “They get pumped up. They say, ‘Let’s go!’ and smash us with high-fives as hard as they can. As the game gets further along, they start doing that with each other, too. That keeps their energy up and their energy high. … We had a fun time with it.”

Once Bayless was named the state Scholar Bowl Class 4 champions, Efken said the team’s immediate reaction was relief that they’d defended their title. The true excitement came slowly and later, as the team had time for the news to set in. They celebrated by getting pizza at Shakespeare’s Pizza, and their “fan club” was there to support them.

Even before they went to state, the Scholar Bowl team had its school’s support. The Friday before the team went to the state championship, the school did a “march out” for them: Students lined the hallways, and the band’s drumline took them through the school while playing drums.

“The reaction from the school has been really supportive. They’ve made being smart cool,” Efken said. “All the kids at the school are very supportive of the team and really excited to hear our stories.”

This is the team’s most recent success, but it rides on the back of another: The Bayless Scholar Bowl team placed fourth at the Small Schools National Championship Tournament, which took place in Chicago from April 24-26. They beat the reigning national champions for the spot. The Bayless team has never placed higher than 21st before, and they were aiming for a spot in the teens — a goal they blew out of the water.

Efken attributes much of the team’s success to his students’ ability to work together. He says that rather than having one “all-star player,” they spread the knowledge among themselves.

“We want all of our kids to contribute equally,” Efken said. “Some of them are very strong at social studies, but they also picked up a lot of science, current events or some math computation along the way. They’re very widespread in their knowledge and they all share the points, as opposed to one person dominating. That’s part of the reason they’re as successful as they are.”