Signal Mountain High School's team recently took home third place at the Tennessee Science Bowl, the best the school has ever done in the annual regional competition which serves as a qualifier for the National Science Bowl held in Washington, D.C.
The Science Bowl is an academic competition that tests middle- and high-school students' knowledge in all areas of science and mathematics. Teams comprise four students, one alternate, and a teacher who serves as an advisor and coach. The teams face off in a fast-paced question-and-answer format that tests them on a range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, Earth and space science, physics, energy and math.
"To go to the regional competition is really an amazing environment," said Mike Aguas, coach and faculty sponsor of the SMHS Science Bowl team. "You come together with about 300 students who have the same mental makeup you do - very into science and math - and if you want to, you can get to know some of the competitors. But the ultimate goal is being able to go to nationals."
The winning team from each of the 48 middle- and 68 high-school regions will compete in the National Science Bowl April 27 through May 1, and while Signal's team won't be among the more than 14,000 students competing this year, Aguas said he expects the team to go to nationals in 2018.
SMHS has been sending teams to the regional competition for the past few years, but this is the first year the team has advanced beyond the initial round-robin portion of the competition into the single-elimination stage, said Aguas, adding that SMHS was one of 16 teams out of the 60 at regionals to do so.
He said SMHS was ahead of the winning team, Oak Ridge High School, by 10 points, before losing by a single question to Oak Ridge and the second-place team, Cedar Springs Homeschool.
SMHS and McCallie School were the only Chattanooga-area teams to participate in the regional competition, and Signal was the only local team to place.
Aguas said a big part of the team's success this year is the addition of junior Tamjeed Azad, who transferred to SMHS this year from a school in Mississippi that had previously competed in the NSB.
"I used his knowledge about the competition to prep the students on the team," Aguas said. "He pretty much carried the team a lot of the time."
For placing third, the team received $500. Next year, with three members of the 2017 team returning, Aguas said he expects SMHS to win the regional competition and move on to the finals, granting them a paid four-day trip to Washington and a chance to win the National Science Bowl Championship.
"The competition is pretty fierce, so for us to lose by just one question, that's pretty spectacular," he said.