The competitive spirit of the former Custer Battlefield Highway Conference continues to thrive through the Custer Battlefield Highway Academic Festival, which celebrated its 31st annual event in Mitchell on March 15, 2024. Although the athletic association disbanded several years ago, the academic festival has become a cherished tradition, bringing together students from former member schools for an intellectual competition.
Michael Catalano, a mathematics professor at Dakota Wesleyan University and one of the festival’s organizers, expressed enthusiasm for the event’s longevity. “It’s a cool commitment on the part of the schools to keep it going,” he stated. This year, the festival attracted 204 students from nine schools, including Ethan, Kimball, Mitchell Christian, Mount Vernon, Plankinton, Sanborn Central, White Lake, Woonsocket, and Corsica-Stickney.
The festival, which has maintained its current format since 1994, features a series of tests and a quiz bowl. Teams are selected by advisers at each participating school, with each team consisting of up to a dozen students. During the morning session, two students from each school compete in 18 subject area tests. The afternoon shifts to a quiz bowl format, where four-student teams answer a variety of questions across multiple subjects.
The competition culminates in an overall winner and a quiz bowl champion. This year, White Lake emerged as the quiz bowl champion, while Mount Vernon claimed the title for the overall competition. Individual medals were also awarded for high scores in the morning tests, providing students with recognition for their academic achievements.
Catalano emphasized the festival’s significance as a platform for students to showcase their academic talents without the pressure of affecting their grade point averages or scholarships. “It gives them a chance to show what they can do, and the competition aspect is part of that,” he remarked.
The festival not only promotes academic excellence but also fosters a sense of community and tradition. Scott Muckey, superintendent for Corsica-Stickney, has been involved with the festival for nearly 50 years, recalling his own experience as a student during the festival’s early days. “You’re always trying to give students opportunities for themselves to show their success. That’s really what it’s all about,” he said, reflecting on the generations of students who have participated.
The event took place at RiverTree Church, which has hosted the festival for several years since it moved from the Dakota Wesleyan campus. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and tension as students tackled questions in subjects such as history, literature, and science, with a few business-related questions nodding to the festival’s origins.
Catalano noted that the festival would not be possible without the dedication of many volunteers from Dakota Wesleyan and the local community, and he hopes to see the event continue for many more years. “I’ll be retiring before too long, but this is something that I can certainly keep doing. I am on board, ready to go,” he stated, highlighting the ongoing commitment to preserving the competitive spirit of the former Custer Battlefield Highway Conference.
As the academic festival continues to engage students from various schools, it stands as a testament to the enduring legacy of the Custer Battlefield Highway Conference, transforming a once-athletic rivalry into a celebration of intellectual achievement.
