BANGOR, Maine — Five high school students and their coach are headed to Washington, D.C., this April after taking the top spot at the 15th annual Maine Regional Science Bowl at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham.
Team A from Bangor High School won the competition, earning accolades from their coach and principal.
“It’s an outstanding achievement by our kids,” said Principal Paul Butler, who noted the team placed third last year and had been practicing since.
“Any time kids are engaged academically, it’s contributing to their development as students and as people,” he said.
Cary James, head of the high school’s science department and the team’s coach, said the team has been practicing at least once a week since September.
“The team went undefeated right straight through the competition and just ran the field,” he said.
The team members are Tyler DeFroscia, a junior; Isaac Robinson, a junior; Hannah Rubin, a senior; Conor Thompson, a junior; and Andrew Ye, a senior. James said Ye is the team captain and organized the team.
About 120 students from 17 schools competed in the game show-style competition. As the victors, the team earns an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Science Bowl competition from April 30 to May 4 in Washington, D.C.
There the team will face 120 middle and high school teams from across the United States. The competition has been organized and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy since 1991.
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.