The yellow school buses of numerous Mississippi high schools lined the narrow street in front of Nissan Auditorium on Friday as polished students descended onto the battlefield where the 2017 Regional Science Bowl took place. Among the competitors were the two MSMS teams, alert and ready to fight for the title.

Starting at noon on Friday, the MSMS teams faced several schools in rounds that lasted around thirty minutes each. Every round consisted of four point toss-up questions and ten point bonus questions relating to the fields of math, chemistry, biology, physics and earth and space. After the total scores for each round were added, the winning school moved on to compete with another randomly chosen team.

For many guest competitors, the Science Bowl held on MUW campus was a chance to catch up with old friends.

“I attended Governor’s School this summer and I’m excited to be back and see all of my friends and compete with them,” said Makenzie Phillips, a student representing Walnut High School.

Although the rounds began on Friday, the preparations for this competition started months before for the teams.

Junior team member Harpreet Singh explained their preparation methods. “It’s gameday, baby! To prepare, we have created Google Docs with links and facts pertaining to Math and Science. We will be facing schools from all over Mississippi competing in the Regional Science Bowl. The winner moves on to nationals in D.C. I hope we make it,” Singh said.

Senior Baili Zhong, another team member, described his motivation for putting in the effort towards this competition by stating, “I love science and I think that competition is a great way to encourage others in the field.”

As the competition would have it, the advancement of both MSMS teams caused them to battle against each other in the semi-final round. The tension in the room was clearly portrayed on the faces of the spectators coming to support MSMS. Team A came out victorious and moved on to the final round against Oxford team A.

Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, MSMS Chemistry professor, commented on the efforts of her teams. “Both teams did a really good job. I was very sad when they had to face each other in the semi-finals so one of our teams had to defeat our other team. The final match was very close. In the end, we weren’t quite fast enough I think more than anything. I think they knew the answers, they just weren’t quite as fast on the buzzer,” she expressed.

Both teams showed great knowledge and understanding of the questions presented to them, as was apparent by the quick buzzers and focused thinking faces. In the end, Oxford emerged victorious and will be traveling to Washington D.C. for the national competition.