On May 23, two local teams joined the top high school quiz bowl teams at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Hilton Atlanta for the 2026 High School National Championship Tournament to determine who was the best. Cinco Ranch High School and Seven Lakes High School joined than 30 teams from Texas, including six other schools from the greater Houston area. Quiz bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students.

Quiz bowl teams use buzzers to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports, and popular culture. The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in all subject areas. Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.

Cinco Ranch High School sent two teams to the 2026 HSNCT. The A team consisted of Zuhair Asaduddin, Adam Crossey, Ishan Paliwal, and Maria Waseem. The B team consisted of Nina Coles, Shiona Das, Zacharia Ibrahim, Julian Ortega, Faizan Sami, and Byron Sood. The teams were coached by Robert Diethrich and Dana Mathis. Cinco Ranch A finished the preliminary rounds with a 7-3 record, which qualified them for the playoffs. Cinco Ranch B finished the preliminary rounds with a 6-4 record, also qualifying for the playoffs. The A team suffered a heartbreakingly narrow loss to Eastchester from New York, 365-340 during round 3. The B team suffered a heartbreakingly narrow loss to Stanton College Prep from Jacksonville, Florida, 245-220 during round 6.

Cinco Ranch A was on the brink of elimination when they defeated Paideia from Atlanta, Georgia in round 22 to stay alive. Unfortunately, they lost to Del Norte A from San Diego, California, ending their shot at the title.

Cinco Ranch B had a very challenging path to the playoffs. They were on the brink of elimination when they defeated Lexington B from Massachusetts and Maggie Walker Governor's School A from Richmond, Virginia in succession to stay alive. Cinco Ranch B's shot at the title ended when they lost to Detroit Catholic Central B from Novi, Michigan in round 21.

The A team finished in 49th place. The B team finished in 97th place. Seven Lakes High School also sent two teams to the 2026 HSNCT. The A team was captained by An

Truong, who was joined by Aarush Akella, Arjun Desikan, and Aaron Wang. The B team was captained by James Wang, who was joined by Anchee Fang, Rahid Ismail, and Sreejit Mukherjee. The teams were coached by Sarah Andrews.

Seven Lakes A began the preliminary rounds with a three-game winning streak, in which they defeated Copley B from Ohio; Coronado A; and Providence (MN) from Plymouth, Minnesota. They finished the preliminary rounds with a 7-3 record, which qualified them for the playoffs.

Seven Lakes B finished the preliminary rounds with a 6-4 record, which qualified them for the playoffs.

The B team played Strake Jesuit B from near home in round 16, suffering a 595-30 defeat.

The A team suffered a narrow loss to Hazen (WA) from Renton, Washington, 330-325 during round 18. The B team defeated Paideia from Atlanta, Georgia by the narrow margin of 200-195 during round 1 and suffered a heartbreakingly narrow loss to Minnetonka A from Minnesota, 350-335 during round 7.

Seven Lakes A was on the brink of elimination when they defeated Marianna from Florida in round 22 to stay alive. Unfortunately, they lost to Vista Del Lago B from Folsom, California, ending their shot at the title. Seven Lakes B had a very challenging path to the playoffs. They were on the brink of elimination when they defeated Troy (MI) from Michigan and Centennial A from Ellicott City, Maryland in succession to stay alive.

Seven Lakes B's shot at the title ended when they lost to Paideia from Atlanta, Georgia in round 21.

James Wang of the B team was honored as a Freshman Rising Star for correctly answering 61 tossup questions -- 14 of them for "power," that is, so early as to earn extra points -- in the preliminary rounds.

The 2026 High School National Championship Tournament's field featured 320 teams from 36 states.

ABOUT NAQT National Academic Quiz Tournaments, founded in 1996, organizes the premier middle school, high school, and college quiz bowl championships in North America. In addition to its national championships, NAQT provides questions to invitational tournaments, league championships, and television shows throughout the year. NAQT operates out of the Twin Cities and Kansas City, but its members mentor coaches, host tournaments, volunteer their services, and share their expertise across the United States.