Two science bowl teams competed virtually in the Pantex Regional Science Bowl. Team One placed second, while Team Two placed tenth against 45 different Texas counties. 

Team One consisted of Samar Ahmed, Methan Rahman, Rohit Saralaya, Allison Wu, and Jeffery Zheng. Team Two consisted of Garrett Saled, Pranav Nambiar, Sophia German-Kavle, and Sashank Gannamaneni. Senior Samar Ahmed enjoyed the competition despite not participating in person like usual. 

“Teammates were still able to communicate and jot down notes during the competition,” Ahmed said. “It was also a lot safer to do it virtually because of the pandemic.”

Competing virtually not only changed a typical round of the Science Bowl, but also the format of the game.

“I am grateful that we could still do science bowl during the pandemic, but doing it virtually does feel different,” sophomore Jeffery Zheng said. “I miss the buzzing sounds and the game/strategy aspects of two teams competing head-to-head with each other. However, the virtual format allows for more discussion among team members.” 

The team practiced via zoom in the weeks before the competition to get used to the virtual format and get an idea of the difficulty of the competition. 

“Mr. Nusz held practice sessions every week,” Zheng said. “We also studied in our own time—reading textbooks and watching science videos. The science and math courses I am taking really help too.” 

The two teams worked hard while participating in the Science Bowl and succeeded in placing well throughout the counties. 

“I’m pretty pleased about it considering how all my past teammates (that I had worked with for years) either graduated or quit participating,” Ahmed said. “It was awesome to get to know my new teammates and build a really strong and successful team!”