JCTC Academic Team gears up for another championship run

Published on Jan 7, 2026

The Academic Team from Jefferson Community & Technical College is off to another great start, competing in 3 tournaments this fall.  The top 10 perennial team hosted a Welcome Back tournament on October 11th; they then travelled to a tournament at Enterprise State (Alabama) on November 7th and finally hosted a Holiday tournament on December 6th.

On October 11th, Jefferson finished 3rd in a field of 6 in Division II behind Jefferson State (AL) and the University of Kentucky.  Clairissa Barbeau and Noble Anderson led Jefferson in scoring.  Jefferson also had 6 alumni join the field and play on a house team in Division I.  It was great to see so many students from past Jefferson teams.

On November 7th, 3 Jefferson students travelled to Enterprise Alabama and took home a 3rd place trophy in a tough 7 team field.  The team was led by Clairissa Barbeau (3rd overall in scoring) and Noah Coomes (6th overall).  Playing in his very first tournament, Trezae Edwards buzzed on the final question in a tie game playoff match against Snead State (AL) to give Jefferson the victory and a top 3 finish.

On December 10th Jefferson hosted a fantastic tournament featuring the likes of Dartmouth, Purdue, WUSL and others.  Jefferson finished tied for 1st in Division II with SIU Edwardsville.  The team was led again by Clairissa Barbeau and Noah Coomes.

Other students participating in tournaments and helping the team this year included Sylvie Smith, Natalie Hibbard, Taylor Durham, and Emily Ross.  Said Coach Peter Rodski, “If I can get everyone together on the same day, I think we have a great shot at another top 10 finish at nationals.  Getting everyone together has been difficult this year due to student schedules, but I’m hopeful for the future.

Jefferson will likely compete in Sectionals in Alabama in late January, with the top 24 teams across the nation advancing to the Community College Championship Tournament in Chicago at the end of February.  Jefferson has 2 national championships, winning the CCCT in 2016 and 2021, along with 8 top 5 finishes since 2013.

Any KCTCS student interested in playing for the Jefferson Academic Team should contact Jefferson Mathematics Professor Peter Rodski peter.rodski@kctcs.edu.  The team is open to any student without a college degree.   Quiz bowl is a fast – paced buzzer competition in which teams of 4 players compete to answer questions that cover academic subjects like history, literature and science as well as the broader world of popular culture and current events.