The annual High School New Jersey Regional Science Bowl competition was held on February 22, at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL).
The Bridgewater-Raritan High School team was advised by Dr. Cheryl Pieroni, and captained by Saharsh Bangaru.
The team members were Saharsh Bangaru, Christopher Qiu, Jay Fang, Harshit Kondle and Natalie Chen as the alternate.
The New Jersey Regional Science Bowl is a double-elimination tournament in which 32 teams from numerous high schools compete in a range of topics, including biology, chemistry, physics, earth and space science, energy, and mathematics.
The school that wins the competition advances to the National Science Bowl competition annually held in Washington, D.C. Each team features four students, and one alternate team member, answering questions in a Jeopardy-style format against another team.
In the competition, there are two types of questions. The first type is referred to as toss-up questions where no team communication is allowed, and each question is worth four points. The team that correctly answers the toss-up question proceeds to a bonus question, which in contrast to toss-up questions, team collaboration is allowed. Bonus questions are worth 10 points.
Bridgewater-Raritan’s first opponent was West-Windsor Plainsboro North, against whom Bridgewater-Raritan lost.
Due to the tournament’s duel elimination format, one more loss would eliminate the team. Afterward, the Bridgewater-Raritan’s Science Bowl team faced North Hunterdon High School, which they beat in their first victory of the competition.
They continued the win streak by displaying a dominant performance, beating Cumberland Valley High School; Montgomery High School, in which Bridgewater-Raritan recovered from a first-half deficit; the Wilberforce School of Princeton; East Brunswick High School and Watchung Hills Regional High School.
The team advanced to the semifinals and prepared to face Livingston High School. There, Bridgewater-Raritan displayed a dominant performance and their tenacity by winning with an astonishing score of 112-54. After a seemingly miraculous rebound from the first round against West-Windsor Plainsboro North and on a seven-match winning streak, Bridgewater-Raritan prepared to face their next opponents in the second stage of the semifinals, the Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science (PRISMS).
The face-off between both schools was intense, with both teams answering questions rapidly. PRISMS ultimately won the grueling competition, ending Bridgewater-Raritan’s contention for the title. Bridgewater-Raritan ended up placing third out of 32 schools.
When asked about the competition, the team captain, sophomore, Saharsh Satyasai Bangaru, spoke about the progress that was made.
“I am very glad about my team’s performance, since we came a long way and our hard work has finally paid off. I could see that the team was collaborating very well with each other, which was absolutely necessary for our success in this fast-paced, buzzer competition. I would also like to thank our amazing advisor, Dr. Pieroni, who played a major role in our victory,” he said.
Team member and freshman Jay Fang thoughtfully also gave his outlook on the experience.
“The competition was thrilling, and it felt so rewarding every time you buzzed and got a question correct. The pressure was really high facing the top schools in the state, but we were confident and did our best,” he said.
The Bridgewater-Raritan Science Bowl team’s placing third in the New Jersey Regional tournament is a testament to their dedication, hard work, knowledge and passion for the competition.
Overall, the team had a successful 2024-2025 season and will work on preparation for the next year’s competition.
Tryouts for the team will be held during the fall of next school year.
