April 13, 2026
By Michael Bowman
HAZEN, Ark. — For the second consecutive season, the HHS senior high quiz bowl team will play for a state championship on the ArkansasTV stage.
On Saturday, April 11, Hazen won all six of their matches at the 2A State Tournament hosted by White County Central High School to advance back to the state championship game, extending their win streak to 35 games in the process. They were also the only team to average more than three hundred points per game in the morning preliminary rounds. In those rounds, Hazen went 3-0 with scores of 335-90 against Marshall, 260-125 against Riverside, and 335-110 against Bigelow.
Hazen's performance in the first three rounds of the tournament earned them the top overall seed in the afternoon bracket. They played Mammoth Spring (who advanced via a wild-card game) in the first round of afternoon playoffs and won 365-70. In the quarterfinals, they played Buffalo Island Central for the third time this season, and won that game 295-100.
In the semifinal game, Hazen played 4-seeded Tuckerman, who advanced to the final four by defeating 2025 2A runner-up Haas Hall Rogers. Hazen held an 80-50 lead after the first quarter and a 135-65 advantage at the half, and extended their lead to 225-115 after the third. They then outscored Tuckerman 80-70 in the final frame to win 305-185, advancing back to the state finals.
Junior Michael Bowman, team captain and reigning 2A MVP, led the tournament in scoring with 19.33 tossups per game. He scored 17 in the semifinal match to lead Hazen back into the state finals. Junior Vesper Feazell provided valuable contributions and notched 1.83 tossups per game.
The HHS Quiz Bowl team will play against Conway Christian at ArkansasTV Studios in Conway on April 25. The tentative start time is 3:30 P.M.
Team members are juniors Michael Bowman, Vesper Feazell, Trever Fulmer, Christian Hune, and freshmen Mathew Essex and Pepper Feazell. The team is coached by Stacey Bowman and Susan Booth. Special thanks to Heather Fulmer for team shirts!"