Whidbey High School’s Knowledge Bowl team knows a little something about what it’s like to be mentally exhausted.

The six-student team placed third at the class 1A state Knowledge Bowl tournament on March 19 at Arlington High School, having endured six rounds of competition and 350 questions during the span of the all-day competition. Consisting of students Collin Burns, Josiah Colby, Liam Twomey, Joel Worster, Sean Miles and Amara Garibyan, the team was pushed to their limits while answering a variety of questions on academic subjects such as mathematics, history, literature, music and science.

A mental grind more than anything else, the Falcons battled against 17 other teams at the tournament. The teams were narrowed down from a field of 500 teams across the state.

Eatonville won the title for the second consecutive year, while Medical Lake placed second. The Falcons were edged out from finishing as runners-up by one point. It was the first time South Whidbey has won a state trophy since 2007.

Requiring quick thinking and teamwork, the competition also tests the mental endurance and fortitude of students. During the oral portion of the competition, teams are given a buzzer and are allowed to answer a question at any time while it is being read. Teams then have 15 seconds to answer the question.

“It sounds like a lot of time but it goes by so fast,” Garibyan said. “You have to be able to communicate and know what other people are thinking and also, if you’re the answerer, you have all these people shouting at you with answers.”

Each member of the team specialized in key categories such as history, biology, anatomy and earth sciences, which made for a balanced team. They also knew each other’s strengths and flaws, Colby said.

“We sort of really know each other’s strengths as well as our weaknesses,” Colby said. “We knew each other and how we can play, so we can buzz in for other people.”

In order to earn a top-three placing, the Falcons had to win a tiebreaker semifinal round over Hoquiam. The tiebreaker consisted of a shootout format of 10 questions, and whichever team answered more correctly would advance. The Falcons dominated the Grizzlies by answering six questions correctly in a row to advance to the finals. The victory over the Grizzlies was especially sweet for Colby, who was part of the Falcons’ baseball team that lost to Hoquiam in the 2015 state championship game.

“Hoquiam was big for me because of baseball,” Colby said. “We didn’t even have to get to the tenth question, we just slaughtered them.”

Though excited to have made it to the finals, Twomey said the team began to wear out mentally, having competed in five rounds prior to the medal round. Students were drained and exhausted near the competition’s end,  Greg Ballog said.

“You could see by the final round, there were some kids who just crashed,” Ballog said.

Miles, who competes in cross country alongside Burns, said the contest was more tiring than any sporting event he’s done. He would often run up to 3.1 miles during competition, more than enough to take the wind out of even the most seasoned athletes.

“Cross country hurts more, but I’m less tired after cross country than I was at [this],” Miles said.

Maintaining a high level of mental focus and competitive edge was challenging, the team said. The tiebreaker was also what may have prevented the Falcons from performing better in the final round, Ballog said.

Garibyan said their performance encapsulated the growth the team has had over the years.

“I think sometimes Knowledge Bowl at this school, half the people don’t even know it exists,” Garibyan said. “For us, it’s our sport. It’s hard and I feel like we don’t always get enough recognition for that and I think this is a great thing to show people that it’s a real thing and it’s something cool that your fellow students can do.”