KEENE SENTINEL

February 12, 2008

Conval to defend championship

PETERBOROUGH - Last year they won the championship. This year they defend it.

Students from Conval Regional High School in Peterborough will head to Seward, Alaska, for four days in late April to compete in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.

They won that right at Saturday's regional Nor'easter Bowl, held at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. The Conval students topped 14 other teams of high-school students from Maiine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Conval's team, made up of students Lily Beyer, Terra Fletcher, Alice Hale, Katie Lance and Mara Zrzavy, will take on 24 other regional champions.

The academic competition covers questions on ocean science, including geology, biology, physics, chemistry and social sciences.

Last year's championship winning team won an eight-day, all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. Expectations weren't set as high this year.

"We graduated four seniors from last year's team and sort of considered this a rebuilding year," team coach Ken Cloutier, a biology teacher at Conval, said in a press release.

"We went into the Nor'easter Bowl hoping to play well," he said. "The undefeated run is a testament to the preparation and dedication of our students."