With a 2024 state title, the Edina Knowledge Bowl Team has captured another state championship. Successfully defending their title, the team also broke the record for the AAA winning margin in the final round of state, as they defeated their competitors without a doubt. “We had basically won before the round had even started, but we didn’t want to let that cloud us, and we wanted to finish strong,” senior captain Beckett Pursey said.
September 2024 kicked off the start of a successful season for Edina’s Knowledge Bowl team, with competitions beginning in late November. The season consists of three regular-season tournaments, followed by sub-regionals, regionals, and then state. With only one graduating member of the 2024 varsity squad, the team returned three strong seniors with the addition of one junior. However, this season was different as Edina felt pressure to rise to the expectations of last year’s state tournament win.
“We had a historic season this year as we came in first place in all the regular season meets by a lot. However, on the other hand, there were definitely a lot of expectations as we had just won [the state tournament], and people were expecting us to win it again,” Pursey said.
In the weeks leading up to the state tournament, members of the team took on extra preparation as they hoped to rise up to the pressures. “We’d stay late, practicing for an hour and a half to two hours every week. We had a few times that we got together and met separately out of school to go over a few things we wanted to touch on,” Pursey said.
This year, the 2025 Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Tournament was held at Cragun’s Resort in Brainerd, MN, on April 10th and 11th. Going into the tournament, tensions were high for Edina as they faced off against defending AA state champions, New Ulm.
This year, the New Ulm High School Purple Knowledge Bowl team was reclassified into the AAA division for the state tournament, making them one of the smallest teams competing against the AAA schools. Facing off against the Hornets in the final round of the tournament, New Ulm quickly fell to second as Edina demonstrated their impressive knowledge and quick reaction skills.
“It’s all about recall. A lot of people have the information, but being able to say it is actually the hardest part,” Pursey said.
Although the final match showed strong signs for Edina, the Hornets continued to fight till the very last question, as the three seniors secured their last victory. “It just feels like a relief. It would have been very disappointing to have won last year and then ended my senior year with a loss,” Pursey said.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 8, 2025
