Concordia College Alabama’s quiz bowl team showed at the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge in March that it’s one of the best in the nation.

The trip to Torrance, Calif. went well for the local team, as they placed in the top 16 among 48 historically black colleges in the competition.

Defeating five teams, including St. Augustine University, Morgan State University and York College, helped Concordia make its way to the Sweet 16 round of the competition.

“When they got to the Sweet 16 round they played and lost by five points, but I’m just really proud of the team,” said coach Dr. Chinwe Okeke.

Last year, Okeke said the team was ranked in the top 40, but showed growth in this year’s top 16 finish.

Okeke said a large portion of the team’s success is accredited to Concordia College and the city of Selma as a whole.

Okeke said she wants to thank Selma residents and businesses for backing the team the whole way through the competition. In addition, she said she’d like to thank Concordia’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Cheryl Washington for giving her the go ahead to sponsor the team.

Although the college didn’t leave with the grand prize, it did leave with a $7,000 grant.

Captain Kendrick Wright was also pleased with the team’s performance.

“We enjoyed our success,” he said. “It just speaks to the hard work Dr. Okeke and others put forth. We could not have gotten there without the support of the college and others.”

The competition opened doors for Concordia and other colleges to showcase their skills.

“It was a great opportunity for HBCUs in general because it shows we’re also capable of not just competing athletically, but also academically,” he said.