March 1, 2000
High school students test “ocean IQ” at contest sponsored by the UW
Teams from Sedro-Woolley High School claimed first place – for the second year running – and teams from Garfield High School placed second and third Saturday during the state’s Ocean Sciences Bowl sponsored by the University of Washington’s College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences.
The first-place team earned an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Ocean Sciences Bowl in Maryland April 14-17.
Teams from five high schools competed Saturday in rounds where they answered rapid-fire questions on biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history and economics of the ocean, and on ocean-related current events, according to Karen Schmitt, manager of educational initiatives with the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences.
Members of the winning team from Sedro-Woolley High School went into the competition well prepared, having conducted weekly practice sessions since last fall and daily practice sessions for the past month.
All trip expenses are paid for the winning team to attend the national competition but Sedro-Woolley students wanted to take their junior varsity along if they won, so they have raised more than $6,000 on their own.
In addition to the trip East, the winning team received a trophy and specially printed T-shirts to wear at the national competition. Coach Beverly Mowrer received a one-year membership in the Marine Technology Society. Team members are Dave Peterson, Jonathan Hough, Ty Bergstrom, Ryan Lindsay and Kim Lowe.
Members of the second-place team from Garfield High School of Seattle received a trophy, tuition for on-line advanced placement courses from APEX Learning of Bellevue and collector-edition Casio watches featuring the UW Applied Physics Laboratory’s Polar Science Center. Coach Paul Spangenberg received a one-year membership from the Coastal Society. Team members are Kaitlin Murdock, Kristin Kearnes, Jacob Miller, Kevin Turner and Tyler Bourret.
Members of the third-place team from Garfield High School received a trophy and half-day oceanographic research cruise from the Ocean Inquiry Project of Seattle. Their coach received posters and videos from the Padilla Bay National Esturine Research Reserve of Mount Vernon. Team members are Kana Imakura, Lindsay Johnson, Christal Olivia Lee, Erin Louise Hurson, Mike Bascus and coach Paul Spangenberg.
Also competing in the day-long competition on the UW’s Seattle campus were:
Bainbridge Island High School: Cooper Rooks, Danny Badger, Robin Weldy and coach Bruce Claiborne.
Wenatchee High School: Erin McCreary, Hanna Magner, Chris Fezer, Stephanie Workland, Owen Riparetti and coach Scott Brown.
Snohomish High School: Britany Mock, Rebecca Minish, Casey Worzella, Emily Krause, Kerian Soley and coach Ardi Kveven.
Sedro-Woolley High School’s second team: Ashley Grant, Tara Kaestner, Shillowe Sterba, Pat Brown , Leah Meyers and coach Beverly Mowrer.
The Seattle Aquarium, National Marine Sanctuary Program and the UW’s School of Oceanography, REVEL Program, School of Fisheries and Washington Sea Grant Program also provided prizes.
The national Ocean Sciences Bowl is conducted by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education in Washington, D.C., a group of 57 oceanography institutions, universities, laboratories and aquariums, including the UW.
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For more information:
Karen Schmitt, UW’s College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, (206) 685-1456
Beverly Mowrer, Sedro-Woolley, (360) 855-3510
Paul Spangenberg, Garfield, (206) 726-6788
Bruce Claiborne, Bainbridge Island, (206) 780-1272
Scott Brown, Wenatchee, (509) 663-8117
Ardi Kveven, Snohomish, (360) 563-4107
