Casper School Qualifies for National Science Bowl Finals

Students from Casper will represent Wyoming at the 2014 National Science Bowl Finals in Washington, D.C.

A team of five students from Star Lane Center punched their tickets to the nation’s capital after defeating four other high schools in a Jeopardy-style regional competition last weekend.

Star Lane teacher George Vlastos says the stakes can be high for teams that make it to the Science Bowl's grandest stage.

“At least in years past, I believe the winning team and the school was provided with a few thousand dollars, but, more importantly, they provide the winning team with about a week-long experience,” Vlastos said.

Last year’s winning high school team won a nine-day, all-expense-paid science vacation to Alaska, while the second place team won a five-day tour of several national parks. Teams that finish in the top 16 take home cash prizes for their school's science department.

“I know, one year, they took the winning team over to France and had them work with the nuclear programs within France,” Vlastos said.

Adam Couldridge, Jordan Ruckle, Eli Vlastos, Ryan Solomon and Abbie Schaible comprised the winning Star Lane Center team.

The National Science Bowl Finals will be held April 24-28. Science Bowl officials say they will announce the grand prizes for the top two schools for this year's event at a later date.

Trevor T. Trujillo contributed to this story.