LV team scores high in science tourney

WASHINGTON -- Five students from The Meadows School finished with a winning record in a weekend's competition among the nation's top science students, but a team from Santa Monica, Calif., finished first.

The Las Vegas team went 6-2 in the U.S. Department of Energy National Science Bowl, losing to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Va., and Fairview High School in Boulder, Colo. Those schools finished third and fourth in the overall competition.

"We did the best we could. We lost to two great teams," math teacher and coach Jeff Clouse said.

"We were here two years ago with largely the same team and we were not terribly successful. This year we came back and were very successful. So we were very proud this year."

The Las Vegas competitors were Tyler Fitzgerald, Vishnu Halthore, Kevin Kowalski, Matthew Shackley and Jiemin "Jimmy" Zhou.

The Meadows School team prevailed over schools from Kansas City, Honolulu, Miami, Brooklyn, N.Y., Burnt Hills, N.Y., and Kingshills, Virgin Islands.

Santa Monica High School finished first among the 67 participants, beating Mira Loma High School from Sacramento, Calif., in Monday's championship.

The weekend contest was a series of round-robin and double-elimination matches. Students were quizzed, "Jeopardy"-style, on all branches of science and math.