Twenty teams filled the arena of the West Plains Civic Center Jan. 26 for the 16th annual Trivia Night benefitting Grizzly Athletics at Missouri State University-West Plains.

The event, hosted by the Grizzly Booster Club, raised $6,000 for the program, organizers said.

More than 160 trivia buffs took part in answering 10 rounds of questions, organizers said, adding a large team of volunteers makes the event successful each year.

A team of university employees and students took home the traveling trophy this year. Members included Cindy Bridges, Anyta Cavitt, Bruce Cavitt, Darcy Drake, Becky Estes and Alex Graham, all of West Plains; Morgan Breidt, Willow Springs; and Mark White, Elk Creek.

Team members also received an “I Am On The Winning Team” shirt and a gift card to Kiko Japanese Steakhouse.

Second place went to the trivia buffs Attie Acklin, Amber Carr, Judy Carr, Stace Gammill, and David and Melinda Ray, all of West Plains; and Emma and Ethan Porter, Kirksville.

Second place team members received a shirt from the Drago College Store and a free lunch or dinner buffet at Putnam Dining.

Third place went to the team representing the Public Defenders. Members included Donna Anthony, Ezra Cahn and Lynna Shin, all of West Plains; Sarah Bernard and Chris Pekarek, Willow Springs; Alex Hoopes, St. Louis; Jody Hoopes, Bakersfield; and Bethany Turner, Moody.

Third place team members received a Grizzly golf shoe bag, several items of Grizzly “swag” and a gift card for McDonald’s.

At the end of trivia play, judges discovered there was a tie for third place between three teams. To determine the third-place winner, the contest’s tie-breaker rules went into play.

Prior to the start of the contest, all teams were required to submit a guess for the number of questions they would answer correctly, without going over. The team whose guess was closest to the number of questions answered correctly was named the third-place winner.

Table Decorating Contest

Teams also competed in a table decorating contest. The Best Table Decoration award was given to the team representing the Student Ambassadors for their “Beach Party” theme.  Members included: Lilya Dudko and Cassidy Crewse, both of Willow Springs; Jason Coonse, Lonedell; Ashley Gadberry, Gallatin; Maci Gray, Mansfield; Kaitlyn Ray, Dixon; Courtney Roberts, St. Charles; and Zeke Webb, Elsinore.

Each member of the winning table decoration team received a gift bag of prizes, organizers said.

A 50/50 giveaway also was held and was won by Roger Harper of West Plains. With a grand total of $740, he received $370, organizers said.

Sponsors

Event coordinators also said they would like to thank the many area businesses and individuals who served as category, food and prize sponsors. They include:

• Presenting sponsor the West Plains Civic Center
• Catering sponsors Domino’s Pizza of West Plains, Pepsi MidAmerica, and Ramey
• Category and prize sponsors AirEvac, Barker Phillips Jackson, Chadwick Peterson AllState, Don’s Auto Service, Drago College Store, Edward Jones – Kevin Gleghorn, Gary’s Tire, Gobel’s Collision Repair, Grennan Communications, Howell-Oregon Electric, KC Garage, Kiko Japanese Steakhouse, Landmark Bank, Herb and Mary Beth Lunday, Mayfield Auto Repair LLC, McDonald’s, Mega Motorsports, Mudbusters, Outpost Motorsports, Ozark Café, Ozark Independent Living, Pizza Shack, Putnam Food Service, Smitty & Company, Southern Bank, Southern Hills Shopping Center, Squire and Squires Investments Inc., State Farm – Ramona Heiney, Wayward Son Productions, Vantage Real Estate Group LLC, West Plains Electric Supply Inc., and Wood and Huston Bank.