Lakeside School

Lakeside's Science Bowl — a long established club at the school — competes both regionally and, often, nationally. In 2026, after their exceptional showing at regionals, Lakeside’s Science Bowl team of Vishnu M. ’26, Sara L. ’28, Emma L. ’27, William W. ’27, and James Y. ’29 finished in third place in the country at the 2026 National Science Bowl. Before that competition, team captain Vishnu M. '26 shared more about his experience competing in Science Bowl and the gratitude he feels. 

There's a particular kind of silence that settles over a Science Bowl room just before the moderator begins reading a toss-up question. Eight students lined up in a row, buzzers in hand, anticipation pulsing in their fingertips. A crowd of nervous parents, bewildered siblings, and expectant onlookers. And sometime from the next few seconds through the next 20 minutes, if you are one of the eight contestants, there will be a question you know with certainty, one that connects to something you serendipitously reviewed the night before or chased down a rabbit hole three weeks ago and will never forget.

National Science Bowl is exactly what its name suggests: a fast-paced, buzzer-based competition where teams race to answer questions spanning biology, chemistry, math, physics, and earth sciences. In my seven years of competing, and four more watching my sister’s squads, I’ve learned my fair share of niche facts — the order in which igneous minerals crystallize from lava, for instance, or the term for locations with no net tidal oscillation (look up “Bowen’s reaction series” or “amphidromic points” if you’re curious!). But “Bowling” is more than stockpiling obscure knowledge. It’s about discovering how much more there is to know, and sharing that excitement with people who are just as passionate about expanding their knowledge as you are.

In that way, Science Bowl has greatly diversified my experience of science. While it doesn't make science tangible in quite the same way as extracting caffeine from coffee in OChem or observing mutant C. elegans in MCB, it turns science into something mental and collaborative: quick thinking, pattern recognition, the ability to connect ideas across disciplines. Rather than mastering a defined body of knowledge, preparing for Science Bowl means drilling down curious questions to their roots, incrementally uncovering the smallest patches of the universe’s tapestry.

In other respects, Science Bowl is just like any conventional team sport. You train, you practice. You win, you lose. You build something bigger than yourself. Though players have their individual strengths, success depends on how well they listen to and rely on one another. Representing Lakeside at the state and national finals — being part of a group of committed students who care so deeply about learning, who challenge themselves at the highest levels — has made the experience especially meaningful and memorable.

As the end of my final year draws ever nearer, with the 2026 national competition to be held at the start of May, I’d like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. de Grys, who was a tremendous help in revitalizing Science Bowl at Lakeside; to Ms. Lombardi, for her constant support and encouragement (coaching us to back-to-back-to-back national berths); and to Dr. Russell, whose unbridled passion and joy never fail to remind us why we’re learning what we’re learning in the first place. And most of all, I’m grateful for all of my teammates over these past four years — Piper, Johan, Michael, Daniel, Rohan, James, Sara, Emma, and William — for the many hours of practice that somehow never felt long enough, for team dinners and bonding beyond the chemical kind, for riding the highs of unimaginable victories and enduring heart-wrenching defeats, and for committing so wholly to something my freshman self had no idea would matter so much.