Devon Prep's brain power prevails

Devon Prep's varsity Academic Challenge Team won the 2012 Chester County Academic Competition Championship last week and will represent Chester County in the State Academic Championship in Harrisburg on May 4.

To win the county title, Devon Prep competed against West Chester East and Great Valley High Schools at the Chester County Intermediate Unit in Downingtown. The match came down to a tie-breaker round between Devon Prep and West Chester East during which Devon Prep answered four out of five questions correctly to secure the victory. Each team was awarded a scholarship for its school provided by the competition sponsor, Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union.

According to Devon Prep's longtime coach and faculty member, Paul Sanborn, this year's team was fortunate to have mostly upperclassmen, which helped with "focus, maturity and knowledge." Devon's varsity team included seniors Matthew T. Bonner of Havertown, Conrad A. Damstra of Newtown Square, John R. Damstra of Newtown Square, Daniel J. Lewis of Exton, James M. Lockard of Wayne, Adam T. Swift of Audubon, and junior Antonio Muscarella of Norristown.

The competition, which is coordinated by the intermediate unit, involved 21 Chester County high schools that began competing against one another last fall in a "college-bowl" format where students answered a wide variety of challenging questions. The subject areas include literature, math, science, American and world history, geography, and current events. The teams who accumulated the highest number of points during the regular season then competed in semi-final matches to earn a spot at the county championships.