The annual School Duel has returned for its 11th season, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is among those competing in the 2021 season. On April 8, three MSD students represented the school on TV, competing against Monarch High School.

Every year, up to 20 of the top South Florida high schools are chosen to compete in the School Duel, which is a competition presented by BrightStar Credit Union and Chick-fil-A. Each team of three has the ability to win a championship trophy and $1,000 for the school they represent.

This year, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was among the 20 total teams chosen. Students Gabriella Montez, Karen Medina and Joanna Teran were those chosen this year, being the only all girls team. Gabriella Montez is also a part of Brain Brawl, which is a Broward County scholastic trivia competition. Being team captain, she was asked by School Duel if she’d be interested. She then asked Medina and Teran if they’d like to be her partners.

“I find trivia to be super fun, it’s interesting to find out just how much you know about a certain topic and to have the opportunity to gain more knowledge outside of school with a purpose,” Montez said. “The team as a whole was amazing and I really enjoyed spending time with my teammates, it was a great experience!”

Originally, the competition was structured to have one overall winner in a single elimination tournament. However, to make sure the competition was safe for the players and abide by COVID-19 protocols, they are now doing 10 individual games where the winning team of each game gets a trophy. Both teams automatically get $50 per player, and both teams receive free chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A for a year.

“I was more than honored for being able to represent my school in School Duel, I had lots of fun and while I was not able to have the full experience of the competition because of COVID-19, I still had an unique experience being part of the competition,” Medina said.

Questions ranged from topics of music, parties, treatments, events in 1960, grammar, periodic table and more. The team lost 260-420 points. You can watch the full duel on YouTube, and be sure to tune in to the other duels on School Duel’s website with the schedule.