Science Bowl Team A won second place out of 36 teams in the Regional High School Science Bowl on March 8 at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Headquarters. The team comprised of Science Bowl co-captains Hugh Cheng ’25 and Olivia So ’25, Troy Goodgame ’26, Remy Kushner ’25 and Will Putzer ’25. Students competed in buzzer-style quiz rounds against other teams across different categories such as physics, earth science and mathematics.
Science Bowl Faculty Advisor Richard Vo said students met two to three times a week during lunch and after school to compete and practice with each other in preparation for the event. During each after-school meeting, the team would split themselves into smaller groups and go through practice rounds.
Vo said he is proud of the success the team has made.
“It truly is a testament to both the strength and dedication of this year’s team,” Vo said. “Every team member felt essential to the victory, bringing their own unique knowledge base and expertise. This is the highest we’ve placed since I have been the coach. In my first two years, we placed fourth. The next two years, we placed third, so I have been pleased with the progress.”
So said she enjoys competing with the team because of their dedication to their subjects and the perseverance the team shows during the tournament.
“Every year I attend the Regional Science Bowl, I always find the atmosphere so exhilarating,” So said. “It’s exciting to be surrounded by people who are just as excited and nerdy about niche science knowledge as I am. There were some moments where we almost lost to our opponent early on in the bracket, before facing North Hollywood Team 1, but I’m incredibly proud of how everybody stood their ground and pulled through, answering crucial questions correctly instead of messing up or giving in. I’m very grateful that all of my teammates put in as much effort as they did. This win definitely wouldn’t have been possible without all of our collective work.”
Vo said each team member combined their strengths to help the team win.
“[Cheng] and [So] were awesome to work with as science bowl captains this year,” Vo said. “Not only was their subject matter knowledge in math and biology unrivaled, but their leadership and drive were a large reason why we achieved second place this year. [Goodgame] really impressed me as well when he stepped up by independently studying astronomy and earth science, which have been traditionally weak points in our knowledge base. [Kushner] and [Putzer] also brought an unreal amount of chemistry expertise to our team.”
Goodgame said the team is looking forward to bringing in new members after this year’s win.
“Getting second place won some money for team members and the school,” Goodgame said. “The goal now for the team is to prepare for next year and get some new members on the team since the A team was four- fifths seniors this year.”
