James Clemens wins its first Science Bowl title, heading to national competition

MADISON – Science Bowl team members are smiling with pride with their first-ever tournament championship win for James Clemens High School.

James Clemens’ win occurred on Jan. 25 at regional competition in Mobile. The team now will advance to the 2025 National Science Bowl in Washington D.C.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science manages the National Science Bowl and sponsors finals competition.

National Science Bowl uses a fast-paced, question- and-answer format to solve technical problems and answer questions on biology, chemistry, earth and space sciences, physics and math.

James Clemens sent two teams for the Mobile competition. Tournament officials placed the teams in two different divisions. “Team 1 from James Clemens made it to the finals from their division,” parent coach Suresh Avula said.

“James Clemens beat the Alabama School of Fine Arts – 1 Team of Birmingham (defending champions for the last three years) in the semifinals and then the Alabama School of Fine Arts – 2 team in finals. James Clemens students are champions for 2025,” Avua said.

James Clemens received “a fully paid, fiveday round trip from the Department of Energy to compete at nationals in Washington D.C. and also gets to participate in STEM-related activities there,” Suresh Avula said.

Winning students and their subject expertise are Erik Wu, Captain, math; Praneel Avula, earth sciences and physics; Neyan Sezhian, chemistry; Heidi Leonard, biology; and Joel Yang, earth sciences.

The coach for Science Bowl and Science Olympiad is Ashley Horne, who teaches chemistry at James Clemens. Horne also sponsors Interact Club.

“I couldn’t be prouder of my students for achieving the incredible honor of being ranked number one in the state of Alabama,” Horne said. “This victory is a testament to their dedication, countless hours of preparation and passion for science and math.”

Horne’s students have pushed themselves “to master complex concepts in physics, chemistry, biology, earth science and math. Their teamwork, resilience and intellectual curiosity have set them apart. Watching them grow into confident, skilled competitors has been truly inspiring,” she said.

“This achievement is not just about winning . . . it’s about perseverance and camaraderie that brought them here,” Horne said. “I am beyond proud of their hard work, and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish at nationals!”

Erik Wu said James Clemens actually lost to the same Birmingham team in the 2024 finals. “Afterwards, everyone on the team was super motivated to take the title, leading to long study nights and weekly practices that sometimes spanned over two hours.”

“This hard work not only helped us gain the needed body of knowledge to buzz quickly on questions but also built up our team chemistry (pun intended),” Wu said.

“Throughout the past year, I can confidently say that the people I’ve had the most fun interacting with are on our Science Bowl team,” Wu said. “This close relationship shined brightly on tournament day as we trusted each other deeply to calm each other down and convert crucial questions in times of high pressure.”

“In sum, I’m really just proud about how far our team has come and look forward to competing hard at nationals,” Wu said.

Since the first competition in 1991, approximately 344,000 students have faced off in the National Science Bowl Finals. Former competitors have acquired knowledge — more importantly, collaborative skills and study habits that have led them to success in various fields.

For more information, visit energy. gov/topics/national-science-bowl.