April 30, 2026
Cowley College Quiz Bowl Repeats as Kansas State Champions at 2026 KCQB Tournament
The Cowley College Collegiate Quiz Bowl team captured the 2026 Kansas Collegiate Quiz Bowl State Championship after an undefeated showing at the state tournament held April 17-18 at Salina Area Technical College in Salina, Kansas.
The Tigers finished the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record and secured the championship with a playoff victory over Garden City in a thrilling final match.
Chad Kubicek, CEO of the National Academic Quiz Tournaments, moderated the championship round and described the match as a dramatic back-and-forth contest.
“The final turned into a back-and-forth affair in which each held and lost an 80+ point lead until (fittingly) tournament MVP Eli Hubble ‘powered’ a tossup on the Battle of Britain to provide the winning margin for Cowley, who thus repeats as the state champions,” Kubicek said.
The state title marks Cowley’s second consecutive championship and the first time in 25 years the program has repeated as Kansas state champions.
Freshman Eli Hubble earned tournament MVP honors with a first-place individual finish. Hubble is pursuing a pre-pharmacy degree and will return next season.
Freshman Ray Rawson placed second individually at the tournament. Rawson is studying cybersecurity and will serve as a TLC tutor at Cowley next year.
Additionally, Cowley's individual finishes included Jimmy Ball in 21st place, Mieka Cooper in 29th place, and Isabella Loomis in 31st place.
Ball is a sophomore chemistry major who plans to continue his education at Wichita State University after completing one more semester at Cowley. Cooper is a freshman in Automotive Technology, while Loomis will return to Cowley’s Criminal Justice program after previously completing an art major.
Cowley head coach Dianne Flickinger said the team’s focus is already shifting toward national competition.
“I look forward to next year to see if we can surpass our national record of eighth place,” Flickinger said. “I am looking for a student who can fill our team with literature, poetry, and sports. I have been receiving more inquiries than usual for quiz bowl scholarships.”
With another state championship secured, the Tigers will now prepare to continue their success on the national stage.
Hunter Ferguson | Integrated Communications Specialist
Cowley College
125 S. 2nd Street
Arkansas City, KS 67005
hunter.ferguson@cowley.edu