Shahala Middle School team a BPA Science Bowl finalist

A team from Shahala Middle School advanced to the championship round Saturday at the BPA Regional Science Bowl in Portland.

The team, which fell in the 12th round, was among 66 middle school teams gathered at the University of Portland for the 23rd annual competition sponsored by the Bonneville Power Administration.

The Shahala team passed through a double-elimination round Saturday morning that narrowed the field to 16 teams for the afternoon championship rounds. For each match, teams of four students sit opposite of each other, using buzzers to field questions on a variety of science-based questions.

This year’s winning team, Science Infinity Club of Bellevue, will advance to the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl in April.

A separate competition for high school students is scheduled for Saturday and will include Clark County teams from Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience, Heritage, Mountain View, Skyview and Union high schools. Mountain View High School from Evergreen Public Schools has won the high school competition for the past two years.

The event is powered by more than 200 volunteers from BPA and partner agencies, many of whom have volunteered for 10 years or more.