Garnet Valley went head-to-head against Haverford and Radnor in their first official HiQ meet of the season on Monday, December 12th. Despite earning a solid 48 points, the team came in third place, a bitter defeat to follow their undefeated season last year. The competition proved to be tough, with Haverford pulling out a 59, the highest score received by any of the twenty-one teams in the first round; the team accumulated the maximum 56 points without missing a single answer, scoring the remainder on pickup points. Radnor scored 54 points initially, which was then reduced to a 53 after a successful challenge by Garnet Valley on an American Government question to which the answer was given in the wrong order.

Although stung by the defeat, Garnet Valley’s team is optimistic that their relatively high score and their projected success in the next two meets will be enough to push them through to the finals in the end. With all twenty-one scores from the first round reported, Garnet Valley currently stands in seventh place, which, while a step back from their first place rank at this point last season, is not impossible to climb back from. Their next meet against Academy Park and Springfield, who scored 24 and 33 respectively at their first meets, will hopefully offer them the chance to accumulate some points and boost their ranking. After the three regular season rounds are complete, 2nd through 7th place will advance to the semifinal round to compete for a place in the finals, so as long as the team continues to push throughout the remainder of the season, they still stand a chance at the crown.