MORRIS, Okla. – The Morris Academic Team competed in the 2025 National Quiz Bowl Championship and won the Very Small School National Championship division, the first team from Oklahoma to do so. The tournament took place April 25-27 in Chicago, where teams from across the country competed to test their knowledge on a variety of topics. The Morris Academic Team placed fifth overall in the tournament, the highest the team has ever placed.
Coach Jeremy Avery recounted this year’s triumphs, but also it’s tribulations. This year was a meaningful one for the Morris Academic Team after losing teammate McKinley McGirt (Potawatomi) to cancer in January. He described this year as an “incredibly successful, but also incredibly painful” due to the loss of McGirt.
“It was a strange mix of an incredible year and an incredibly difficult and challenging year,” Avery said. “One of our students, McKinley McGirt, who has been on the team for years and who was incredibly important and one of those ‘glue personalities’, or one of the people that held us together, was diagnosed with cancer in October. She passed away on January 14.”
McGirt passed away just two days before the area championship and two weeks before the state championship. Avery admitted it was a hard decision to make whether or not to continue competing. After talking with students about the team’s future, Avery and the team decided to keep competing because they believed it is what McGirt would have wanted them to do. The Morris Academic Team continued to practice hard for the state and conference playoffs, going on to become undefeated in both competitions. This marked the third state championship title the team has won.
Junior Keyton is a Mvskoke citizen and is one of four members on the national team. The Morris Academic team has been an extracurricular activity Keyton has been a part of since middle school. According to Avery, Keyton has made tremendous progress and growth during his time as a member.
Competing alongside Keyton is team captain Ean, and team members Nicole and Gage. Each student contributes their knowledge of specialized subjects. Keyton’s expertise lies in literature and mythology, particularly Greek.
“This was probably our most accomplished season to date, for both middle school and high school,” Keyton said. “Having all that success on top of everything we’ve dealt with this year makes it that much more special.”
In addition to competing, the national team explored the Chicago area. These experiences were ones Keyton says students from small schools like Morris do not normally get the chance to see.
Supporting One Another Through Loss
Keyton remarked that McGirt was a special person who always tried to find the silver lining in life. This quality was one that personally inspired Keyton.
“She was someone you could have a conversation with about anything” Keyton said. “She always tried to keep her spirits up. I thank her for that because even when you’re having your bad days it’s always good to look for the best in them, she always tried to do that.”
According to Avery, for most students on the team this was the first time they experienced the loss of a peer. Despite the sudden loss, not only did it motivate the team to excel in their competitions, it also taught them how to offer emotional support to one another.
“They showed incredible resilience and incredible love for each other to continue on and to have the success that they had,” Avery said. “I think she would have taken incredible pride and joy in the team itself, in how they came together as a family in the aftermath of everything that happened, how they supported each other, and how they were there for each other.”
Keyton says he plans to find a job for the summer through the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Summer Youth Employment Program. To stay up to date on the Morris Academic Team’s competitions and fundraisers, visit their Facebook page, Morris Academic Team.
