McCracken County High School Advances to DOE National Science Bowl

PADUCAH, Ky. – McCracken County High School won this year’s DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl on Friday, the culmination of months of planning by volunteers and coaches for an event touted as the region’s most prominent science competition for high school students.

The five-member team will compete in DOE’s National Science Bowl finals from April 27 to May 1 in Washington, D.C. Read about the West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl for middle school students here.

“Congratulations to this year’s winner. This event provides an excellent opportunity for students in our region to participate in a first-class competition,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Manager Joel Bradburne said. “Our Paducah staff and contractors invest numerous hours to deliver a platform that showcases the gifted students in the Paducah community.”

The regional tournament is a quick-recall, fast-paced, question-and-answer contest. During the competition, high school students are quizzed on their knowledge of biology, chemistry, Earth and space, energy, mathematics and physics.

Calloway County High School finished second and Graves County High School took third place in the regional contest.

“The last three years have been filled with uncertainties and challenges. I’m proud of my team for the time and effort put into this year’s event. Without their hard work and determination, our win would not have been possible,” McCracken County High School coach Matthew Shelton said. “A special thanks to DOE for their continued support of this event.”

Also competing in this year’s regional match were Ballard Memorial, Livingston Central, Marshall County, Owensboro and Paducah Tilghman high schools in Kentucky; and Cairo Junior/Senior and Massac County high schools in Illinois.

The first place high school and middle school teams in the regional tournament will receive $1,500 for their schools.

The regional event is sponsored and organized by PPPO employees and contractors. More than 50 volunteers serve as moderators, judges, technical advisors and scorekeepers.

DOE’s Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl finals competition. Each year, more than 14,000 students from across the country compete in the national competition. Since the event began 32 years ago, more than 330,000 students have competed. More information is available here.