In Science Bowl Finals, It’s Battle of the N. Hollywoods

It came down to North Hollywood A vs. North Hollywood B. And the winner was: North Hollywood.

For the first time in the seven-year history of the prestigious Los Angeles Regional Science Bowl, two teams from the same high school found themselves battling it out in the event’s finals.

“To see them both in the finals was a dream,” said North Hollywood High School Coach Koh Ikeda, who supervised his students through more than 100 hours of preparation for the event.

In the end, age and wisdom held sway, with Ikeda’s all-senior team (team A) crowned champions in the Department of Water and Power-sponsored event, beating 48 other teams from 30 public and private high schools.

But not before getting a scare--twice--from the team of underclassmen it practiced with all year and had been grooming to follow in its footsteps.

“These are the people we’ve studied with all year,” said Iris Ahronowitz, a senior and team A’s captain. “These are our friends.”

The final score was 112 to 44. But in an earlier match, the A team was nearly eliminated by its junior varsity counterpart, barely edging it out 120 to 108.

Van Nuys High School’s B team placed third.

The Science Bowl pits two teams in a fast-paced game-show-style competition that tests students’ science knowledge and quick reflexes. Students are quizzed in topics ranging from biology to computer science.

North Hollywood High School’s win Saturday was its second straight. On April 30, the team will go to the national competition in Washington, where it placed second last year.

Since 1995, three Los Angeles regional champion teams have gone on to capture national titles, one from Van Nuys High School and two from Venice High School.

The winning team members Saturday were each awarded $1,000 scholarships from Hitachi.

Their school also received $1,000 toward the purchase of science equipment.

At nationals, North Hollywood will face 1,800 high schools from 32 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands.

Until then, it’s back to memorizing and drilling for North Hollywood A. And what about Team B?

“We’ll help them,” said sophomore Natalie Stein.