Ledyard Wins Marine Science Bowl

Ledyard High School, despite injuries, a seemingly unbeatable opponent and a chance their , shocked the marine science world by winning the Quahog Bowl Saturday.

“I feel unbelievable,” Coach Dave Bednarz said. “This is a long time in the making… And this was the perfect time to win.”

Ledyard had one player, Bryauna Philips, tear her knee up just a week before the competition, but she still managed to play through the pain. A second player, Raagan Wicken, suffered a concussion just days before, and could not participate.

Moreover, Ledyard schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Graner recommended cutting the Project Oceanology program for next year at the last Board of Education meeting. Still, Ledyard knocked off Waterford, who had finished second in the tournament seven years in a row, in the semi-finals and eliminated Cranston High School West, who had won the tournament eight years in a row, in the finals.

“I can’t believe it,” Jenna Farquhar said after the victory. “It is a dream.”

What Is The Quahog Bowl?

The Quahog Bowl is a marine science question-and-answer tournament in which five-member teams representing different high schools square off against each other. Sixteen high schools participated in the event, which was held at UConn’s Avery Point campus in Groton.

The teams face off against each other one at a time, and are asked questions about marine science and then buzz in for the answer. Different questions are worth different amounts of points, and whoever collects the most points wins.

Ledyard’s Tournament

Ledyard began in a round-robin tournament within a four-team division, where they won all three matches. That gave them the second seed in the single-elimination tournament.

In the single-elimination competition, Ledyard easily won its first two matches. But then it faced Waterford, who had eliminated them last year and finished second the last seven years in a row.

“I prepared myself to lose so I wouldn’t be upset if we did,” Ledyard team member Qiuyin Ren said. “We were the underdogs.”

Ledyard started off strong, and Waterford’s confidence began to fade. Ledyard dominated the second half of the game, and easily defeated their longtime rival.

Then came Cranston, which had won eight consecutive Quahog tournaments. Most of the team admitted later they went in with almost no expectations.

“All I wanted to do was beat Waterford,” Bednarz said. “I wasn’t even thinking about Cranston.”

But much like they did against Waterford, Ledyard started off strong and Cranston’s confidence began to erode. Ledyard dominated the second half of the game, and easily won the championship.

“I’m in shock,” Ren said. “I still can’t believe it.”

The Cut

On Wednesday at a Board of Education meeting on the school budget, Graner recommended cutting Project O, a marine science course for high school students at UConn Avery Point. Bednarz said all students he had on his Quahog Team participated in Project O.

Both the five-person team and Bednarz said they would go to the Board of Education meeting Tuesday to argue against cutting Project O.

“That can’t happen after this,” Ren said. “We are going to be there Tuesday.”