In February, five students from Brookings High School won the South Dakota Regional Science Bowl and earned a trip to Washington, D.C. to compete at the national level, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Sixty-seven teams from all over the United States, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico participated in the national tournament in late April. Additionally, 48 middle school teams competed in their own division at the national level.
The Brookings team was led by seniors Vanessa An, Nancy Yang, Cole Knutzen, and Sampada Nepal, along with sophomore Mallory Wells. Ronda Kantack served as their coach for both the regional and national competitions. The team was undefeated at the regional level and took home the title of regional champions before heading to Washington, D.C.
The trip started early in the morning with a flight out of Sioux Falls and included visits to museums such as the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum and presentations by National Laboratory personnel on artificial intelligence. The team also participated in a Design Team Challenge where they excelled. The next day they toured various sights on the National Mall including museums and the U.S Capitol building before heading back home after final rounds on Monday.
Although they placed fifth in their bracket during
