Carmel residents made their presence known at the National Science Bowl.
Carmel High School was one of 67 high school teams and Sycamore School’s team, which included three Carmel residents, was among 48 middle schools in the competition. Both teams advanced by winning a regional competition.
Sycamore School placed seventh in the middle school team division in the National Science Bowl,, which was held April 25-29 in Leesburg, Va. Sycamore went undefeated in the morning portion of the middle school tournament, earning a spot in the afternoon double-elimination bracket.
The team finished 9-2 and earned $1,000 for their school. Sycamore finished third in the Cyber Science Challenge competition for only middle school teams, which consisted of a series of computational algorithms and “Jeopardy!”-style questions that the teams solved using math, programming and logic. The team earned $500 for their school for that finish.
The Sycamore team included Carmel residents Shayen Maun, Gavin Sigua and Justin Warren and Fishers residents Allison Jeray and Alex Bramhill. Jeray is a sixth-grader and the others are eighth-graders. Sycamore finished fifth in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best finish was second in 2016.
Coach David Schuth, a science teacher at Sycamore, said the key was the students’ motivation.
“We did a lot of studying and we were practicing three times a week,” he said.
Schuth said the experience was fantastic for the students.
“They’re learning about the world around them, whether it’s through the knowledge they’re picking up or interacting with kids all over the nation who are like them interested in science and how the world works,” Schuth said.
CHS went 5-2 in the morning portion of the high school tournament to advance to the afternoon double-elimination bracket. The team ended 6-4, earning a top 24 finish overall.
The team members were Kevin Hu, Yash Bhargava, Edward Chen and Adam Madni.
“The students really worked hard to win regionals and prepare for nationals,” CHS coach Dawn Laumeyer said. “We have two seniors, Kevin and Yash, who will be leaving the team this year. So, Edward and Adam will take over. The kids had a blast at nationals. They met new friends and ate really well. The first round of round-robin was rough. But, they bounced back for all but one of the remaining rounds. They won the first round of double-elimination, but lost the next two rounds. Ironically, the team we won against in round-robin is the one that finished us off in double-elimination. Edward is very strong in math and physics. Adam’s wheelhouse is chemistry and physics. Kevin is really good at math and Yash’s strength is biology. I keep telling them they are the smartest four young men I know.”
The National Science Bowl has been sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The competition tests students’ knowledge in all areas of math and science, including biology, chemistry, Earth science, physics and energy.
