NEMCC hosts National Academic Quiz Tournament

Northeast welcomed teams to the City of Hospitality for the first time in a decade

by Michael H. Miller

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (11/11/2024) — Northeast Mississippi Community College (NEMCC) hosted its first National Academic Quiz Tournament (NAQT) in almost a decade in October, welcoming teams from Alabama and Mississippi to its Booneville campus for a day of inquired academic competition.

Northeast's Fall Welcome Back Tournament was held in Patterson Hall and marked a significant return to NAQT hosting in the City of Hospitality.

Northeast's A and B teams were joined by Enterprise Community College, Southern Union Community College, Jefferson State Community College, and Northwest Shoals Community College, all Alabama-based institutions.

Together with Northeast's A and B Teams, a total of six teams competed in a round-robin style format, providing valuable practice and preparation for upcoming regional and national contests.

Northeast's competition concluded with Northwest Shoals Community College emerging as the overall winner, edging out Northeast's A Team in a close tiebreaker.

Both teams posted 6-1 overall records, but Northwest Shoals earned the top spot with a points-per-game average of 273.6 over Northeast's 251.6.

Enterprise Community College rounded out the top three.

Both Northeast's teams excelled in individual scoring, with Northeast being the only school in the tournament to place three scorers in the Top 25 percent of finishers.

Leading the charge for Northeast was Brian Faulkner of Booneville, who placed third overall, followed by Tanner Palmer of Baldwyn, who earned a fifth-place finish and led Northeast's B Team.

Ben Mixon of Booneville, Chad Byrd of Corinth, Seth Brasher of Bruce and Jared Liles of Bruce also represented Northeast well.

Mixon finished in sixth place in the tournament, Byrd and Brasher clocked back-to-back eighth and ninth place showings and Liles helped Northeast place six scorers in the Top 11 places with his 11th place finish.

Additional scorers for Northeast included Ion Miller of Bruce in sixteenth, Morgan Eakin of Savannah, Tenn, in nineteenth, M'Kya Jackson of Baldwyn in twenty-fourth, and Junior Moore of Iuka in twenty-seventh.

Overall, Northeast achieved eight top 20 finishes, demonstrating the depth and skill of the Northeast Scholars Bowl teams.

Northeast's Scholars Bowl teams are under the direction Eric Smith and Jillian Guy.

Former coach Stephanie Smith, who has helped lead Northeast to consecutive national tournament appearances, played an instrumental role in organizing the event.