Great Mills Takes Third at Regional Computer Bowl
Posted by SMECO
Pax Leader III
Great Mills High School took third place in the Southern Maryland High School Computer Bowl. From left are team members Andrew Herbig, Nancy Bolton, Jonathan DuBose, coach Nora Blasko, and Noah Wichrowski.
More than 80 young computer experts tested their programming skills and technical knowledge during the 24th annual Southern Maryland High School Computer Bowl, held on March 2 at North Point High School in Waldorf.
Sponsors for the Computer Bowl included Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, College of Southern Maryland, Booz Allen Hamilton, and the public school systems of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties.
Twenty-three teams from nine high schools in Southern Maryland faced the challenging literacy and programming tests in the Computer Bowl. In the first round of the competition, students took a written test of their knowledge of computer history, hardware, and software. In the second round, teams of three to four students created computer programs to solve specific problems, using programming languages such as Java and Visual BASIC.
Charles County Public Schools equipped each team with two laptops for the programming portion of the competition. Smart Technologies and CCS Presentation provided Smart Response pads for the literacy portion.
This year, a difference of only two points separated the first-place and second-place teams. Taking the top spot was Charles County’s La Plata High School with members Cody McGinnis, Thomas McGinnis, and Alex Smith, coached by Richard Williams. In second place was Calvert County’s Huntingtown High School with team members Gunnar Arnesen, Vince Kubala, Jason Merewitz, and Joey Watts, coached by Tom Currier. Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County won third place with team members Nancy Bolton, Jonathan DuBose, Andrew Herbig, and Noah Wichrowski, coached by Nora Blasko. In fourth place was Patuxent High School from Calvert County with members Craig Gantt, Cameron Gorsak, Trey Henrichsen, and Gabe Smith, coached by Blaine Mably.
Winners received plaques and trophies. SMECO awarded gift cards to the top four teams, and the second-place team also received gift cards from the Charles County Technology Council. Booz Allen Hamilton awarded Kindle Fire tablets to the first-place team. The College of Southern Maryland also awarded the four first-place winners with $500 scholarships.
SMECO spokesperson Tom Dennison stated, “We are honored to have sponsored the Computer Bowl for 24 years, and it is very rewarding to see the top technology experts from our local schools challenge each other to do their best. Electric utilities depend more and more on information technology to help keep the lights on for their customers. The Computer Bowl highlights computer skills, which are valuable not only for students’ careers, but also important for SMECO’s future. ”
Booz Allen Hamilton employees Alan Cooper, Carrie Dalton, Sharon Essick, Mike Hammett, Frank Wolzein, and Tammy Wright served as judges for the competition. Joe Burgin from the College of Southern Maryland and Catherine Wood of System Planning Corporation also served as judges. Lora Bennett and John Stine from Charles County Public Schools assisted with judging.
