March 14, 2008 -- Students representing Auburn High School at the Illinois Scholastic Bowl in Peoria claimed the championship today, Friday, March 14, after defeating the team from Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

Auburn led throughout the championship round, beating Stevenson by 234 to 197. The nine-member Knights won three earlier rounds to advance to the final competition with Stevenson. Coach Linda Greene said the Knights’ 327-to-168 victory over Wheaton North in the third round proved critical in its capture of the first-place trophy.

“Wheaton North has been a nemesis of ours for years,” Greene said as the team headed back to Rockford on a chartered bus Friday night. “They’ve defeated us more than we’ve defeated them.”

Auburn’s five starters played the full third and final rounds under the leadership of co-captains Siva Sundaram, a junior, and John Brown, a senior who made headlines last year with his perfect ACT score. Joining them were junior Michael Jiang and seniors Matt Hargrove and Robert Westfall. Competing in the morning rounds were juniors Vritti Gupta and Danielle Long and sophomores Dayne Rogers and Zahed Haseeb.

A contingent of about 80 parents, students and teachers accompanied the team to Peoria.

After Friday’s competition, the Knights’ record stands at 89 wins and nine losses. The team will compete in the national qualifier in May.