Punahou team wins international affairs battle

A team from Punahou School won the 2016 Academic WorldQuest Competition, a “battle of the brains” staged by the Pacific & Asian Affairs Council Saturday.

It was the largest such competition to date, with 500 high school students showcasing their knowledge of international affairs at the Hawaii Convention Center. The winning team, known as Punahou JAYA, was made up of Yu-Jin Cho, Anson Lee, Jordan Nishina and Anli Valdez.

The teens will represent Hawaii at the Academic WorldQuest National Competition in Washington, D.C., in April.

Waiakea High School’s team KOGA placed second, followed by another team from Punahou. Altogether, 83 teams from 23 schools across the state as well as California and Japan took part.