Okemos NOSB takes 2nd place in Great Lakes Science Bowl

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Adam Lacasse and Jamie Eagle pose after their second place finish at the 2019 Great Lakes Science Bowl.

It’s been nearly 13 years since Okemos High School’s finished near the top of the Great Lakes National Ocean Science Bowl.

The Okemos team has been celebrating all week its second place title.

The NOSB is a regional academic competition held in Lansing where teams of high school students from all over the region compete for the regional title.

Dave Chapman is a science professor at Okemos High School and has been the NOSB coach for over 15 years.

“Mr. Chapman has put his life into this school and team. He’s even invested a lot of his own time and money into the club,” said Adam Lacasse, an NOSB team member.

“I see this club as a place for students who have an genuine interest in oceans and an opportunity for students to be involved with something fun and unique,” said Chapman.

Chapman’s deep passions in oceanography became contagious among his NOSB team, and this year, the students were inspired and motivated just enough to win, earning a cash prize of $400.

The competition was structured like a quiz bowl type event where students within teams of five get asked questions about ocean science.

“There were a lot of difficult questions,” said Lacasse. Adam’s strong suit was tackling concepts related to the geography of oceans.

This is where he felt he’d make the biggest difference. “Last year was my first year competing in this competition, I was really nervous then,” said Lacasse. “Since I had a year of experience under my belt, this year went a lot smoother for me, and I wasn’t as nervous.”

Even though the Okemos team seemed to have most of their nerves under control, their ability to perform under pressure was still tested.

“Last year’s champions were there,” said Adam Lacasse. “We played them in the early stages of the competition, and they beat us pretty good. We ended up versing them again in the second round of elimination. It was high stakes, we pushed for it, and we beat them by a slim margin which was really cool for us!”

Lacasse wasn’t the only contributor to the team. Jamie Eagle, an Okemos High School senior, also played a crucial role in the team’s success. “They refer to me as The Educated Guesser,” he said. “I’m really good at problem solving and figuring out the right answer, even if I don’t know 100 percent,” said Eagle.

Unlike Adam, who had a specific subject focus for the competition, Jamie’s role was simply to choose the best answer when the team couldn’t decide on a final answer. Believe it or not, if Jamie wasn’t there, the team wouldn’t have performed as well as they did in the final rounds.

Nevertheless, despite not winning first place, the Okemos team was more than grateful and honored to bring home a second place title in a competition with dozens of teams from high schools from all over the region.

 Adam Lacasse and Jamie Eagle pose after their second place finish at the 2019 Great Lakes Science Bowl.

Adam Lacasse and Dave Chapman pose for a photo at the 2019 Great Lakes National Ocean Science Bowl.

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