Huron hosts 26th annual Regional Science Bowl

HURON — For the fifth year in a row, Rapid City Stevens won the 26th annual South Dakota Regional High School Science Bowl, a math and science competition for high school students held Saturday at the Huron Event Center.
Western Area Power Administration hosted the science bowl, a fast-paced quiz competition that challenged the students’ knowledge of biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics, energy and math.
Students representing 12 schools from South Dakota, including Huron, Hitchcock-Tulare and Redfield, vied for first place and a free trip to the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., April 25-29. The regional and national events encourage student involvement in math and science, inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields, and reward superior academic achievement.
Rapid City Stevens team members are Taylor Wolff, Isaiah Morin-Baxter, Alan Zhu, Marita Schmitz, Bennet Outland and Coach Michael Grizzaffi. Team Captain Alan Zhu won All Star individual scoring honors and the associated monetary prize for answering the highest percentage of toss-up questions in the morning round robin format.

Taking second place was Rapid City Central Team 1, comprised of Coach Sam Steinken, Mason Harvison, Sevyn Leombruno, Alex Heindel, Michael Reuppel, and Ethan Parsons.
Third place went to Rapid City Stevens Team 2, including Cameron Kokesh, Mathew Clutter, Taygen Johns, Carter Schmitz, Noah Darland, and Coach Michael Grizzaffi.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt took fourth place, with a team of Richard Amankwaa, Jason Johnson, Dee Dee Yu, Greta Yermolinsky, Sara Alhasnawi, and Coach Matt Geistfeld. This was their first competition in the S.D. Science Bowl, and four of the five students and the coach are rookies.
The Science Bowl committee was impressed with this team.
Northwestern Team No. 1 Captain Danny Orr placed second for the highest percentage of toss-up questions, and Dawson Maska, president of the Parker team, placed third.
The Department of Energy (DOE) created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage students to excel in mathematics and science and to pursue careers in these fields. More than 275,000 students have participated in the National Science Bowl® throughout its 27-year history, and it is one of the nation’s largest science competitions.