Fort Couch earns silver at America Bowl

A team of Fort Couch Middle School students finished second among 35 teams in the annual America Bowl history competition held Feb. 15 and organized by the Baldwin-Whitehall School District

The squad included eighth-graders Josh Beitler, Rohan Inampudi and Callum Pollock as well as seventh-grader Malo Dubreil.

The America Bowl challenged students in grades 3-5 and 6-8 to answer both team and individual questions within six categories – Pittsburgh History, States, Presidents, Things to See in America, Early America, and Government.

In the 6-8 grade division, 35 teams representing 12 schools from throughout the South Hills competed. Fort Couch Middle School entered four teams in the competition and practiced American trivia leading up to the event.

Thomas Yochum, gifted education teacher, coached the Upper St. Clair district students.

“All the Fort Couch teams were prepared, especially the silver medalists,” Yochum said. “They drew on a lot of knowledge from our practice sessions and their classroom teachers, but, most importantly, worked well together on the team questions, which helped separate them from the pack.”

In addition to the second-place team, the following Fort Couch Middle School students participated in the America Bowl: eighth-graders Molly Biedrzycki, Ryland DeStefano, Lainie Guarino, Ryan Katukota, Lizzie Myers, Myles Owens, Ian Putorti, Catalina Ramirez and Jonah Zahalsky, as well as seventh- graders Nate Del, Aaron Jiang, Raana Parchuri and John Whitman.