Churchville-Chili H..S. took top honors, winning MSRC’s 6th Annual Bay Scallop Bowl! The Bay Scallop Bowl was one of 25 regional high school competitions that took place nationwide on February 10, 2007 as part of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), a program of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research & Education (CORE).
In what turned out to be a very exciting and close competition. Jericho H.S. took second place and Mount Sinai placed third. Regis H.S. was awarded the best Sportsmanship Award, receiving a consistent perfect score from the judges.
“The students competing in the NOSB are exceptionally brilliant and are what makes this such a prestigious; program,” said Richard D. West, President of CORE.
The day started out with MSRC Dean and Director, David Conover, welcoming the 16 New York teams, and thanking the 82 volunteers, which included many MSRC alumni, students, faculty and staff. Dean Conover was joined by Stony Brook University (SBU) Provost, Robert McGrath, who encouraged the participants to get involved in research at the University. US Congressrnan Tim Bishop then spoke to the crowd about the importance of students pursuing careers in science. Next, State Assemblyman Steve Englebright and State Senator John Flanagan took the stage to congratulate the teams and encourage the students to consider attending a top NY research institution like SBU.
For the past 6 years that MSRC has been hosting the Bay Scallop Bowl, Churchville-Chili’s team has traveled over 400 miles from upstate New York to participate. Although they have always been a high-scoring team, demonstrating an exceptional knowledge of the ocean sciences, this was their first win.
In the final rounds, Churchville- Chili faced off against last year’s champions, Jericho H.S. Churchville-Chili had one loss up against Jericho entering into Round II. Churchville won, forcing both teams into a competition-ending playoff. In the final nail-biting buzzer round, Churchville kept their lead and won the Bay Scallop Bowl. As they jumped up in excitement, they were congratulated by the other team for a spirited and intense competition!
“I am very blessed with this bunch of kids. They are motivated, hard-working, and intelligent. They are a real team. All I do is give them a place to meet and help with practices. They do everything else.” explained Churchville-Chili coach, Karl Biedlingmaier. “They are putting in a huge effort to get ready for the national event.”
Churchville-Chili will now go on to represent the New York region in the 10th Annual NOSB, which will be hosted by MSRC and held at the Student Activities Center from April 28-30.
Congratulations to all the students who participated in this year’s event! A special thanks to all or the sponsors and the many volunteers that turned out to make the event a success.
For more information on NOSB visit http://www.nosb.org
