by Aubrey Montoya
Daily Lobo
Four students are pioneers in the UNM trivia circuit.
Clinton Peebles, John Ogren, Aaron Posey and Jennifer Hammitt make up the first UNM College Bowl team in 43 years, and they are going to nationals.
College Bowl consists of several college teams made up of three or four players. The teams compete against each other by answering trivia questions.
Peebles, a senior majoring in geography, was not expecting big results from the UNM competition. His team, Santa Clara, competed against 19 teams to get to the regional competition.
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"I was a resident adviser in Santa Clara, and I had a few guys on my floor that were really smart," said Peebles, captain of the UNM team. "So I decided to gather a team with a couple guys on my floor."
Peebles and his teammates agreed that what started out as friends having fun ended up with a big achievement and a bigger commitment.
"I wasn't expecting to win," said Ogren, a freshman who specializes in chemistry, physics and math trivia.
The Santa Clara team won five times in a row to gain the UNM College Bowl champion spot. It was headed for the regional competition.
But right before the regional championship, there was a snag in the plan.
Vincent Voris, the former captain of the Santa Clara team, joined the Army. The team chose Jennifer Hammitt, captain of the second-place team, to take his spot. Hammitt, who is majoring in English and philosophy and is a frequent player of National Trivia Network, jumped at the opportunity to go to the regional competition.
"It's really great being a part of this team and representing UNM," Hammitt said.
The national competition is another feat the team is ready to take on. The students are preparing for the competition, held April 22-24 at the University of Washington in Seattle. They will be competing against 15 other teams, including Stanford University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Minnesota - all formidable opponents, Peebles said.
"You don't know how well you're going to do," Ogren said. "You don't know if the other team is just better than you or if they're going to get better questions for their knowledge area. I get a little nervous when I get up there."
Posey, a freshman majoring in history, said the hardest part for him is finding time to study between classes.
Ogren said despite the nerves, the team has confidence in its success.
"I think we have a very good range of knowledge," he said.
The team hopes to beat the record of Colorado State, which took 13th place last year.
"I would like to get into the top 10," said Hammitt. "I think that would be the best showing that anyone in our region has ever done, and that would be really cool for us."
Even though nationals is in the future, the UNM team said it already feels like a winner.
According to Peebles, the team's trip to the national competition "is actually getting recognition for our school and for us, too."
The other teammates agreed that acknowledgment was a nice reward for their achievements.
"The satisfying part is being recognized for the knowledge that we have," Hammitt said.
