Minnesota Academy of Science

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St. Louis, Park 55426

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chaska High School 2010 Science Bowl Champion

Will compete in National Finals in Washington, D.C.

St. Paul, MN – Chaska High School defeated Wayzata High School to win the championship of Minnesota Academy of Science’s Minnesota State Regional Science Bowl for High School Students at Macalester College on January 22. They won a team trophy, individual medals and will represent Minnesota in the upcoming Department of Energy National Science Bowl, April 29-May 4, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Teams spent months preparing for the event that features head-to-head competition in a fast-paced question and answer format similar to the TV show, “Jeopardy.” The students were quizzed on science disciplines including biology, chemistry, earth science, physics and astronomy, as well as math. Most questions were so challenging even educated scientists would have trouble finding the answer.

In the Round Robin event, congratulation goes to Chaska High School, Oakland Junior High's 9th grade team, St. John's Preparatory School, St. Paul Central, and Wayzata High School for winning or tying all of their games.

18 teams advanced to the Double Elimination, but only 16 spots were available. A preliminary faceoff was held that pitted Harding High School against Woodbury High School and Mankato High School against one of the Burnsville High School Teams. The competition was close, but Burnsville and Harding emerged victorious to join 14 other teams in the Double Elimination.

The Double Elimination rounds went in to overtime as Wayzata and Chaska faced each other twice, with Wayzata winning the first round. The teams were tied in the final round, but Chaska took a commanding lead in the second half and won the second round to take the title and the right to advance to the Department of Energy National Science Bowl, April 29-May 4 in Washington, D.C. This will be the 5th time that Chaska, coached by Jim Lund, has gone to Nationals in the last 10 years!

Having only joined the Science Bowl in 2007, this is the 3rd year that Wayzata High School, coached by Karen Hibbs, has made it in to the top 3 spots. They have proven that they are a tough competitor that can go the distance, and all eyes will be on them next year to see if it will be the year they make it to Nationals.

St. Paul Central won third place this year and continued to set records - this was the second year in a row that 2 of the top 4 spots were won by their teams. With the help of coach Randy Knoche, St. Paul Central has gone to Nationals twice, and has placed in the top 3 spots 5 of the last 8 years.

The last time Chaska High School won the Science Bowl was in 2006. Competing for Chaska High School were Jordan Hiller, Xuan Li, Sean Mussack, Sean Stelten and Trevor Vossberg. The team was coached by Pam Schmillen. Wayzata High School was represented by Rohit Agrawal, Gauray Singh, Danesh Bankwala, Terry Lee and Ganesh Raman. The team was coached by Karen Hibbs.

A total of 36 teams from 18 schools participated in the event. The schools that participated include: Benson High School, Blake School, Burnsville High School, Cathedral High School-New Ulm, Central High School-St. Paul, Chanhassen High School, Chaska High School, Columbia Heights High School, Harding High School-St. Paul, Mankato West Sr. High School, Minnetonka High School, Oak Land Junior High-Stillwater, Springfield Public School, St. Anthony Village Sr. High School, St. John’s Preparatory School-Collegeville, St. Paul Academy & Summit School, Wayzata Sr. High School, Woodbury High School.

Minnetonka High School-Team 3 won the Civility Award. The Civility Award is presented to the coach and team, which best represents the positive aspects of competition.

The Minnesota State Regional Science Bowl for High School Students is a program of the Minnesota Academy of Science. The Minnesota Academy of Science supports Minnesota scientists at every stage of their development, providing a vital forum for scientific inquiry and discussion that reaches thousands of Minnesotans annually. The event was sponsored by generous contributions from Ecolab, General Mills, Great River Energy and Macalester College.

Photos can be downloaded from the Minnesota Academy of Science web site. http://www.bowl.mnmas.org/sbArchives.asp

For more information contact:

Lisa Warbritton MN Academy of Science – www.mnmas.org

Science Bowl Coordinator U.S. Dept. of Energy - www.scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/

Minnesota Academy of Science

lwarbritton@mnmas.org