Cedar Falls students triumphed over Ames High students with a last-minute, come-from-behind win at the Ames Laboratory High School Regional Science Bowl Saturday.

The rivalry between the two teams began three years ago, when Cedar Falls landed in the final round only to be eliminated by Ames.

Students from 48 Iowa high schools competed in game-show fashion, answering questions on topics ranging from chemistry to computer science.

“It’s similar to a quiz bowl,” said Nina Schmitz, coach for the Aplington-Parkersburg team. “Except in a quiz bowl, the questions cover more topics like literature, and the bonus questions are handled differently.”

After losing a tight match to Ames in the semifinal round by just a few points, Cedar Falls came charging back to beat them twice and overtake Ames, who are five-time champions, in the final match.

Team captain for Cedar Falls, 15-year-old Alex Power, remained optimistic about the team’s chance of winning after the preliminary round.

“We’ll be back. We’ll see you in a little bit,” Power said as he walked off the stage after the team lost to Ames High in the semifinals.

Cedar Falls coach Robert Nelson said he wasn’t surprised by his team’s championship.

“In the five years I have coached a team in this thing, I don’t think I have ever had this strong of a team,” Nelson said.

Cedar Falls will now advance to the Department of Energy’s National Science Bowl weekend in Washington, D.C., May 3-6. The national champions will win a two-week trip to London’s International Youth Science Forum.

But Doug Fuller, volunteer at this year’s bowl and former contestant, said winning isn’t the main point of the contest.

“Sometimes teams take it too seriously,” said Fuller, champion of the 1999 Regional Science Bowl.

“Our team took things seriously but always made sure that we had fun when we were competing as well.”

About 90 faculty and staff members from Ames Lab and Iowa State served as moderators, judges, timekeepers and scorekeepers.

The first-time volunteers were required to do a training session before they could take part in the Science Bowl. The session consisted of practicing what they were going to do during the event, watching a video of a past event and play a mock game to get the feel for it.

“I feel that volunteering for the Science Bowl benefits the faculty and staff as well as the students,” said volunteer Kenneth Kerns.

“This event really shows how intelligent the students are and how well they can work together as a team.”