Morgantown High School’s Team 1 claimed victory at the 33rd West Virginia Science Bowl (WVSB) Regional High School Competition, held Saturday, Feb. 3, in an in-person format for the first time in years at the West Virginia University (WVU) Mountainlair. Twenty-four teams from 18 high schools participated in the contest, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL.

The WVSB tested students’ knowledge of math and science in a fast-paced, quiz-style tournament.

“Congratulations to our high school winner of this outstanding academic challenge. Your hard work equipped you to excel against a tremendous field filled with other talented students,” said Sean Plasynski, NETL acting director. “I hope this exciting competition inspires you and all teams to pursue your dreams and reveals to each of you what you are capable of as our next generation of scientists and engineers.”

For years since the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, the science bowls were held in a virtual format in which each individual team was read the same sets of questions, and the teams with the highest combined point totals from all preliminary rounds advancing to the Elimination Tournament.

This year, however, the WVSB returned to its original face-to-face setting on the campus of WVU with head-to-head matches against each other.

Coming in at second, third and fourth place were Morgantown High School Team 2, Wheeling Park High School Team 1 and Bluefield High School Team 1, respectively.

Morgantown High School and Suncrest Middle School Team 1, the winner of the WVSB middle school competition, which will be decided on Saturday, are eligible to advance to the 2024 National Science Bowl set for April 25-29 in Washington, D.C. 

The high schools competing in the WVSB were Bluefield High School, Clay County High School, Fairmont Senior High School, George Washington High School, Grafton High School, Herbert Hoover High School, Huntington High School, John Marshall High School, Morgantown High School, Oak Glen High School, Oak Hill High, Parkersburg High School, PikeView High School, Ripley High School, Saint Albans High School, University High School, Wheeling Park High School and Woodrow Wilson High School.

NETL is a DOE national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By using its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant, and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.