Idabel High School junior Wyatt McGee plays on the school’s academic team and was among McCurtain County’s top scorers last season.
“I’m lucky enough that my intelligence is mostly natural. I have a great ability for retaining information,” McGee said. “But I did work to be better at academic bowl; I watched and read lots of media about various topics. This made my pool of knowledge a lot bigger, which meant scoring more points.”
McGee served as Idabel’s team captain this season, meaning he had the final say during lightning rounds, among other responsibilities. His depth of knowledge includes art history, science, pop culture and literature.
“I have to be able to receive input from my team and find compromises,” McGee said. “I have an encyclopedic mind, and it’s what really allows me to go so far in this activity.”
McGee is a competitor by nature. He never misses practice. Though sports “were never [his] thing,” academic bowl was the perfect outlet to prove his talents against opposing schools.
“I really enjoy representing my school in tournaments and games,” McGee said. McGee also plays the clarinet in Idabel’s band and is a member of National Honor Society. He does volunteer work in his free time. He is enrolled in the interactive media program at Kiamichi Technology Center and works part-time at Domino’s. McGee hopes to maintain his A average and graduate with a weighted GPA north of 4.0 next spring. He will also be clarinet section leader.
“Then, for academic bowl, I want to go farther,” McGee said. “We lost at the regional level this year, and I want to make it to state next year.”
