Three teams of Mars Area Middle School students competed in the 2026 Western Pennsylvania High School Science Bowl, held Feb. 27 at Community College of Allegheny County — South Campus.

The team of eighth-graders Aarna Bansal, June Irwin, Andrew Moravek, Noelle Papik and Siddu Senthilkumar took second place overall out of 23 teams and earned $900 for the school’s science program. Other participants included eighth-graders Aarush Kollipara, Owen McEvilly, Aanya Mistry, Nihit Mittal, Kristin Sadhu, Miles Spaulding and Joshua Wright; and, seventh-graders Ryan Bachelder, Ziqian Feng and Gavin Gadde.

“All of the students worked so hard leading up to the competition, and it showed,” says Amanda Stavish, who coaches the team along with Jessica Winter. “They demonstrated, not only impressive academic skills; but, also collaboration, quick thinking, and resilience throughout the day. It was such a joy to watch them in action.”

The students, who competed against teams from local middle schools, were asked questions related to biology, chemistry, earth & space, energy, mathematics and physics. 

The annual event is sponsored by the National Energy Techlogy Laboratory (NETL) and the U.S. Department of Energy. For more information,  visit http://wpasciencebowl.com/.