Photo by courtesy of Jennifer Winder

The North Platte St. Patrick’s varsity Knowledge Masters team is the national champion in their division, triumphing over 43 other teams, St. Pat’s spokeswoman Jennifer Winder said Tuesday.

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The Knowledge Masters Open is designed to recognize academic achievement and stimulate learning, organizers say.

Competitors answer 200 challenging questions, earning points for the speed and accuracy. The competition is conducted on computers.

The Irish qualified for nationals by placing second at state, in all enrollment divisions, out of 13 Nebraska teams.

On the national level, the Irish finished 158 out of 518 total teams, counting all states and all enrollment divisions, Winder said.

The High School Knowledge Master Open Academic Competition was held in April. St. Pat’s also has two middle school teams in that competition and two teams that compete at the elementary division.

The Irish have a fifth grade and a sixth grade team from McDaid, who answer 100 questions in their competition.

Pictured

The Irish high school team:

On floor: Adam Pasquinelly. Front row from left: Jacob Cook, Nathan Beattie, Brandon Adkins, Maggie Vinton, Jamie Smith, Laura Bjornstad, Megan Trierweiler. Back row: Josiah Allison, Andrew Vinton, Kody Oltman. Brandon Niesen, David Trierweiler, Chris Dilley. Not Pictured: Barrett Pieper.