SCF students take second place in Brain Bowl competition

BRADENTON -- State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota's Brain Bowl "A Team" recently took second place in the Delta Burke Brain Bowl Tournament at Valencia College.

Consisting of students Michael Freedman, Haley Miller, David Espinal and Paul Foerster, the SCF team registered a 9-1 record at the tournament and took top honors for a two-year college. They were bested only by neighboring New College of Florida, a four-year institution, whose team is coached by recent SCF graduate and former National Championship SCF Brain Bowl team leader Naimul Chowdhury.

SCF's "B Team" is comprised of Ariel Watsky and Damien Bobrek, an SCF Collegiate School student in 11th grade who was playing in his first college tournament. The two placed 14th out of 32 teams.

Watsky was named Brain Bowl Player of the Month in September by the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSSA), which sponsors the Brain Bowl. A student-at-large representative on the executive board of the FCSAA, Watsky has competed with the SCF team for three years. She placed 14th overall in this most recent tournament.

Two other members of SCF's Brain Bowl team ranked in the top 25 of the 119 students competing in the Valencia tournament -- Foerster, who ranked 13th, and Freedman, who came in 22nd.

SCF's Brain Bowl is a competitive academic team that participates in tournaments with teams from state colleges throughout Florida.

This story was originally published November 27, 2015 at 12:10 PM with the headline "SCF students take second place in Brain Bowl competition ."