St. Raphael students win Brain Brawl

The St. Raphael School Academic Team won the 10th annual St. Ignatius Brain Brawl on April 17, becoming the only team in the history of the tournament to win back-to-back titles.

The Brain Brawl, hosted by St. Ignatius High School, is an annual academic competition for junior high school students from private schools across the Cleveland metropolitan area. The competition is an all-day event in which schools compete against one another by answering game-show style questions that range from music and math to baseball and board games.

St. Raphael School in Bay Village sends teams to the tournament each year. The St. Raphael team that won the competition consists of Ryan Corrigan, Aidan Knapp, Kevin Lloyd, Conall McMahon, Kyle Miller, and JP Zorc. The team staged an epic comeback against St. Barnabas (Northfield) in the championship game to win it all.

This marks the first time that a team from any school has won the tournament in back-to-back years. Knapp and Zorc were members of last year’s team and played significant roles in leading the team to victory both years. The "Father Ober Cup of Knowledge," the tournament’s trophy, will remain at St. Raphael for another year.