JCTC Academic Team

05/15/2026

It is with great sadness that I let everyone know of the passing of another member of our Jefferson family, Morgan Williamson. "Captain Morgan" played on the team from 2017 - 2020, leading the team to top 8 finishes at the Community College Championship Tournament in 2019 and 2020. Among his many individual accolades was earning All-Star status for his 4th place finish in scoring at the 2019 CCCT in Orlando, Florida. He currently ranks 5th on the all time scoring list at Jefferson with 40.87 PPG. He continued to help with the team even after he graduated from Jefferson, volunteering at tournaments and helping coach the team as he worked toward his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Louisville. His love of the game was second to none. Just a huge loss for our Jefferson family. Obit here:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/recorderonline/name/morgan-williamson-obituary?id=61416183

04/22/2026

Still have a few hours left to donate for Jefferson Giving Day! For those of you who have donated, Thank you!!! Click on the link, then click on "Jefferson Other - Fund Not Listed", and then you can add "Academic Team" under designation. You can leave your name or be anonymous.

Jefferson Community and Technical College transforms lives and communities through educational excellence in an inclusive environment that opens doors for all students. On April 22, the Jefferson community will team up to support programs, projects, and initiatives that enrich our students’ colleg...

04/22/2026

Tomorrow, April 22 is KCTCS Giving Day. Join me in supporting students and our community by taking part in Jefferson Giving Day! If you are thinking about giving to the college, we would be so grateful if you would consider your gift going to the academic team. There are bonuses for groups with the largest # of individual donations, and the most alumni/student support, so it would be great if we could get a bunch of our past players to give. I believe the minimum donation is $5, we would love a bunch of small donations - it is not so much about the money but more about the involvement of our supporters. We do not have a direct link (I've been promised we will get one in the next month or two), but please use my link below, click on "Jefferson Other - Fund Not Listed", and then when it says "Please designate your gift" you can add "Academic Team". I think there is a Jefferson match at 11:00 AM too, so that would be a great time to donate if you can give. Speaking of engagement, we are also looking at some type of alumni get together in the near future, some type of reunion event where we can all get together and have a good time - still working out the details on that. Thanks everyone!

https://kctcsgivingday.com/pages/jefferson?referral_id=69e63ac740dc4ccb4839f531

04/21/2026

Last week was a roller coaster with some serious ups and downs. However, the highlight was honoring the 2016 National Championship Team at the Student Success Awards Night. It was a fantastic night! I was able to present the team with jackets, and some very well deserved recognition on the 10th anniversary of our first national championship. That team went 32-2 versus Community Colleges throughout the year, culminating in an undefeated National Academic Quiz Tournaments CCCT. We also got to get some great pictures, including recreating the iconic championship photo with the trophy. Congratulations to Tim, Kimberly, Brandon and Jason. Also thanks to my assistant coach at the time Amy. It was great to see you all and reminisce!!!!

04/16/2026

It is with a very heavy heart that I share the news of the death of one of our own, Ben Poe. Ben played on the Jefferson Academic Team from 2017 - 2019, competing in several tournaments including 2 CCCTs, one in Chicago (2018) and one in Orlando (2019). After graduating, Ben went to the University of Louisville, completing his graduate degrees, before coming back to work for Jefferson and was currently a full time faculty member in the English Department. He often volunteered at our tournaments too. He was a great player, and a better person. He will be sorely missed. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. Services for Ben will be on Sunday.

https://www.highlandsfuneralhome.com/memorials/ben-poe/5704191/?proxy=original

04/11/2026

Great end to the season last weekend as we hosted a fun tournament on the SW Campus. Playing in their final tournament for Jefferson, Noble (42 ppg), Clairissa (31ppg) and Noah (21 ppg) helped Jefferson to a 2nd place finish. Augustin in only his 3rd tournament ever also chipped in 20 ppg for Jefferson. Way to go Team! We were also joined by a couple teams from our sponsor, Republic Bank. After an early loss, their top team (Scott, Tracy and L) went undefeated on the day. And their 2nd team (Mandy, Karen, Tiffany, and Dan) performed well too and got to experience what we are all about. It was a great day! Tennessee Tech outlasted Louisville, West Florida, and Notre Dame to take top honors in Division I.

02/28/2026

Congrats to Jefferson on a 15th place finish at the 2026 CCCT in Chicago. We had a tough day today with 4 losses on the last question, so many tight matches. We were only a couple of tossups away from 9th. Our balanced scoring had Noble at 16 ppg, Augustin 15 ppg, Clairissa 13 ppg, and Noah 11 ppg. All 4 players had at least 1 power too! We may host one more fun tournament in April. Chipola (Florida) won the championship. Way to go Jefferson!

02/28/2026

Huge win over Valencia in last match. I think we will advance to the middle bracket. Still have a shot at a top 10 finish.

02/27/2026

Here is our draw for tonight. We start play in an hour.

02/27/2026

We made it to Chicago! CCCT begins tomorrow night. We enter the tournament ranked 20th in the country, but I have a feeling we may surprise a few folks. I will post updates here. Good luck to Clairissa, Noble, Noah, and Augustine.

01/27/2026

So we did host a virtual sectional this weekend! Although we were extremely shorthanded, (only 4 of 7 were able to play, and only 2 were able to play all 9 rounds) we still managed to finish 2nd out of 4 teams, and likely will get a bid to nationals! We couldn't have played the winning undefeated team, Northwest Shoals (Alabama), any closer, losing all 3 matches to them on the last question, including an overtime loss 190-185. Individually, Clairissa was 2nd overall in scoring at 42 points per game, Noble was 4th with 29 ppg, Augustin (in his first tournament ever) was 7th with 13 ppg, and Griffin was 9th in scoring with 10 ppg. Georgia State - Perimeter was 3rd and Northeast Mississippi finished 4th. Stats here: https://www.naqt.com/stats/tournament/standings.jsp?tournament_id=18161
I think if we can get everyone together for the CCCT we have a shot at getting back into the top 10 this year. Nationals are February 27th & 28th in Chicago. Go Jefferson!!

National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC, organizes the premier middle school, high school, community college, and college national quiz bowl championships in North America.