Academic Quiz Team Regular Season Review

For most sports fans, winter athletics consist of basketball, cheer, and wrestling. However, winter is also the Academic Quiz Team (AQT) season in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference (ECC). 

Loveland AQT competes against Walnut Hills on January 14th, 2026. Credit: Amy Scholl

AQT is a varsity athletic team that competes in matches with the same level of regulation and procedure as any other sport. Matches are split into three rounds, each presenting different challenges to players. The first series is the Team Round, where each team gets a question in a specific category (such as American literature or geography), followed by a toss-up question that can be answered by the team that buzzes in fastest. The second round is the Alphabet Round, in which teams have four minutes to answer twenty written questions, and all correct responses start with the same letter. The final round is the Lightning Round, where whichever team buzzes in first gets five seconds to answer a particular question. Teams play two varsity matches against each other in one evening, with a junior varsity match in between. 

Loveland has finished 11-7 in the ECC this season, ranked fourth out of ten conference teams. Week 1 saw two hard losses to Anderson, 38-84 and 51-79. Anderson has finished 14-4 and could potentially face Loveland in the ECC tournament in March, where the Raptors will have home “field” advantage. Week 2 saw two more hard losses for Loveland, 34-85 and 36-81 against Little Miami. The Panthers finished the season undefeated, making for a strong competitor in March.

Week 3 saw the Tigers break a four-match losing streak, beating West Clermont 49-35 and 42-31. Unfortunately, Week 4 saw the Tigers lose both matches to Walnut Hills, 34-73 and 50-83. Walnut Hills has finished second in the ECC with a record of 14-2, losing both matches to Little Miami in Week 9. 

Loveland rallied back in Week 5, sweeping Lebanon 55-25 and 43-31. Week 6 delivered a similar result, with Loveland defeating Kings 53-34 and 48-36. Despite two compelling victories, Week 7 delivered a chaotic home spectacle due to numerous contested questions and a power outage at LHS. Loveland beat Turpin 64-33 and 53-31, with the second match occurring in the dark and without buzzers. In Week 8, Loveland soundly defeated Winton Woods 37-16 and 56-28 in the last away match of the season. Week 9 saw the two most competitive matches of the year for Loveland, losing 49-52 in the first match, but winning the second match 52-51 in triple overtime. The Milford match was also senior night for Kate Cremer (12), the only senior on Loveland’s team.

Loveland AQT poses after defeating Milford 52-51 in triple overtime. From left to right: Preston Damadeo (9), Isabel Fordos (11), Grant Macura (11), Aidan Hymes (11), Mr. Pohana (social studies), Luke Wolf (9), Zane Shrewsberry (11), JT Brinkman (10), Cameron Dell (10), Mr. Hutzel (English), Colin Shepherd (10). Not pictured: Kate Cremer (12). Credit: Amy Scholl

After other teams make up snowed-out matches during the last week of February, the ECC standings will be set for the Wednesday, March 4th, conference tournament at Anderson High School. Loveland will enter the postseason seeded fourth, meaning that the Tigers will be playing fifth-seeded Milford in the first round of the ECC tournament in a rematch of the hotly-contested Week 9 showdown.

Overall, the Tigers had an exceptional AQT season and will be a serious competitor at the ECC tournament in March. Additionally, Loveland’s entire varsity lineup will be returning for the 2026-2027 season, setting up another successful year for the Tigers.