STEM Academy Varsity Academic Team Championship @ CCIU

submitted by Mr. Stephen DiRomualdo, Academic Team Advisor

I am happy to inform everyone that the Varsity Academic Team has once again made the county championship at the CCIU on Monday March 16th at 7pm (All welcome to attend).

STEM Wolves entered the 24 team fray sitting on Tuesday, February 24, after an assured display, in 3rd place. Loaded with a core group of seniors, STEM ranks itself as one of the more complete teams in the league this year. Defined individual areas of expertise as well as broad general knowledge garnered from the years of experience paid dividends in this playoff run.

The day began against wild card contender Devon Prep and Collegium. It was a cagey start, but STEM was able to stave off the robust history knowledge of Devon Prep finishing the first round with a score of 40 to Devon Prep’s 30 and Collegium’s 15. The next round saw a healthy offensive spell for STEM extending the lead from 10 to 40 while the third round saw some key contributions off the bench that saw off a late push from Devon Prep. The final score: STEM 145, Devon Prep 110 and Collegium 50.

The first match served as more of a warmup with a much stiffer test awaiting the Wolves. The semi-final matchup saw Wolves pitted against old rivals Great Valley and Bishop Shanahan, who have shown flashes of brilliance in our previous matchup. The first two rounds were as advertised with each team’s competitiveness, turning the match into a real see-saw affair. After round two STEM held a single question lead with the scores STEM 75, Great Valley 70 and Bishop with 60. The Wolves showed their spurtability starting the 3rd round with 5 straight toss up answers setting the tone for the rest of the round. Each member of the team contributed to the scoring and conferring in the fanfare portion. The final score was STEM Wolves 130, Great Valley 105 and Bishop Shanahan.

This represents this group’s 4th appearance in the finals in as many years. While in previous years, they’ve wilted in the pressure cooker like environment, I believe this team has all the tools to make it to the big dance in Harrisburg. Hopefully, STEM doesn’t become the Buffalo Bills of Academic Competition.

JV fights for their place at the finals on Tuesday, March 3rd.