Wright Junior High Science Bowl team places third in nation
The Academic Science Bowl team from Wright Junior High School in Lincolnshire seized third place in a national tournament - the best finish in school history.
Sponsored by the U.S. Energy Department, the National Science Bowl was held April 25-29, in Washington. The competition resembles a quiz show, with contestants racing to answer math and science questions. Separate prizes are awarded for middle schools and high schools.
A Wright team has competed in each of the last six national Science Bowls. It's missed only once in nine years.
Last year, the Wright squad won a round-robin competition at the event and placed fifth overall.
This year's Wright club consisted of eighth-graders Deepak Salian, Rishabh Wuppalapati and Dev Ganguli and seventh-graders Vedant Rathi and Akshansh Chauhan. They were coached by Katie Yan and Tony Hafner.
Yan praised the team members for their work at the national contest.
"In tough situations, the team kept calm, regrouped and lifted each other up," Yan said in a news release. "I am so proud of this group for their hard work and perseverance."
A team from Lexington, Massachusetts, won the middle school division this year. A team from Plymouth, Minnesota, won the high school division.