NEWS FROM WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 3, 2009
CONTACT: Lori Wille, (916) 337-0440, LMW95630@aol.com
MIRA LOMA WINS AGAIN IN SACRAMENTO SCIENCE BOWL
FOLSOM, CA—Mira Loma High School once again proved its winning formula by taking top honors at the Sacramento Regional Science Bowl, Feb. 28 at Vista del Lago High School in Folsom. Regional Science Bowls area held across the country each winter to encourage interest and study in math and science fields.
Early on in the competition, it seemed as if Mira Loma’s winning streak might be over as Rio Americano Team 1 edged its rival in one match. “The Mira Loma Team 1 was neck and neck with the Rio Americano Team 1,” said Lori Wille, regional coordinator. “Eventually, Rio Americano won 104 to Mira Loma’s 102 after the final buzzer had sounded. At that moment, most of the room came to its feet because for most of the day no one had been able to compete, let alone beat, Mira Loma. It was a pretty exciting moment,” she said.
But it was not a harbinger of things to be as the Rio Americano team lost to Mira Loma in the final round, bringing the championship to the Mira Loma High School for the 13th time in the 19 years that the competition has been held.
Comprised of two sophomores, two juniors, and only one senior, Mira Loma Team 1 of Rishi Kulkarni, Edward Lee, Andrew Chen, Sriram Pendyala and Heather Yee used its experience competing at Nationals last year to propel them to the top at this year’s regional.
The winning team finished second at last year’s Sacramento Regional Science Bowl competition and went in place of the winning team when that team had a schedule conflict. Hoping to just finish in the top 16, last year’s team went on to stun their coach, James Hill by finishing second at the Nationals. With another year under their belt, Hill believes that this year’s winning team will face unbelievable expectations from their friends and classmates to win the entire event.
“These kids are just incredible. There are businesses and industry waiting for these kids to graduate,” said Wille. “A presenter from one of the sponsors, Aerojet, said they have jobs waiting for them in rocket science once they finish school. You just can’t believe how incredibly smart these kids are. It’s inspiring.”
Sponsored by Western Area Power Administration and other organizations and businesses in the Sacramento area, this year’s competition featured 30 teams from 17 high schools vying for top honors. By winning this year’s regional, Mira Loma Team 1 earned an all-expense paid trip to the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl Competition in Washington, D.C., April 30 through May 5, 2009.
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