FRIDAY HARBOR HIGH SCHOOL

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Friday Harbor three-peats at Orca Bowl

Another whale of a win! Friday Harbor second in national contest

A Whale of a Win II: Friday Harbor repeats as Orca Bowl champs

A WHALE of A WIN: Friday Harbor students victorious in 2004 Orca Bowl

Friday Harbor three-peats at Orca Bowl

Members of the winning team -- senior Sarah Anderson, senior Andrew Dunn, junior Katie Schmidt, junior Steffan Iverson and sophomore Theo Pratt -- won 11 of 12 matches at the regional competition and advance to the national Ocean Sciences Bowl in Monterey, Califorinia in April.

Friday Harbor's other team -- senior Lillan Roquet, senior Anna McLaskey, senior Felipe Lopez, junior Jenny Guard and junior Alia Knight -- finished third in its bracket, barely missing the cut for the finals.

Friday Harbor three-peats at Orca Bowl

"I'm really proud of both teams," said Marc Vermeire, the Friday Harbor High school teacher who coaches the teams with his wife Deb. "Everybody did a great job."

"It was really sweet," said Anderson, who competed on last year's team. "We had a more well-rounded team this year. There was a lot of input from everyone."

"It was great fun and very unexpected win," Dunn said. "I had much lower expectations walking into it."

"I felt like I was on an adrenaline drip bag all day," Iverson said.

"It was an incredible experience," said Theo Pratt, the team's alternate. "I'm looking forward to competing next year."

Team One beat Ocean Research College Academy -- a.ka. ORCA, an Everett high school specializing in marine sciences -- in three of four matches.

Friday Harbor's second team entered the Orca Bowl without any competition experience but won five of seven matches. "They were kind of a JV team," Vermeire said. "To win third in their bracket and to win fifth total, is awesome."

"We exceeded all expectations beyond our wildest dreams," McLaskey said.

"We had a blast," Roquet said.

The teams might put on a exhibition, possibly as a fund-raiser.

"I'm issuing a challenge," Roquet told the winning squad. "My team will be ready."

Charlie Vermeire, Deb and Marc's 15-month-old son, was promoted from mascot to "roadie." He performed as well as the high schoolers, taking care of the team's good-luck charm -- Capt. Coco the Monkey.

A talisman accompanied each of Friday Harbor's teams to the national competition. Elliot Thomsen brought a baseball on the first nationals trip to Charlston, South Carolina. The team signed the "JuJu Ball" and tossed it into the Atlantic Ocean.

The team found their second charm during a trip to Bermuda, a prize for finishing second in the nation. They plucked a barnacle-encrusted golf ball while SCUBA diving.

After placing 12th in 2005, the team chucked the golf ball into the Gulf of Mexico. They bought Capt. Coco at Sharkheads in Biloxi, Miss., which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Coco will be joining the rest of the souvenirs from Sharkheads in the sea. "No matter how we do, Capt. CoCo ain't coming back," Vermeire said.

Orca Bowl team comes in 12th out of 480

posted 04/28/05
Friday Harbor High School’s Ocean Sciences Bowl team placed 12th in the nation out of 480 teams that started the 2005 competition. Members of the team -- John Fyrqvist, Shay Hopkins, Johannes Paul, and Sarah Anderson -- returned yesterday from the four day national competition in Biloxi, Mississippi. The team’s coach Marc Vermeire is "very proud of them. They played very well in some tough matches and were outstanding sportsmen through the entire event."

Anderson, a junior on the team will anchor the squad at next year’s regional event held at the University of Washington in February. "We are going to be on everyone’s hit list next year having won the region twice in a row. We’ll have to field a very strong team."

A Whale of a Win II:
Friday Harbor repeats as Orca Bowl champs

Friday Harbor High School's champion Orca Bowl team displays their winning hardware and charms. In the first row, from left to right, are Captain John Fyrqvist (holding a lucky golf ball) and Ashley Spendiff. In the second row are JoHannes Paul, Sarah Anderson and advisor Marc Vermeire holding his son and team mascot Charlie. (Team member Shay Hopkins is not pictured.)

updated 02/15/05 posted 02/13/05
Friday Harbor High School came from behind to win its second consecutive Washington State Ocean Sciences Bowl -- better known as the Orca Bowl -- Saturday, Feb. 13, 2005. Seniors John Fyrqvist, JoHannes Paul and Shay Hopkins and juniors Sarah Anderson and Ashley Spendiff also won the sportsmanship award.

"I'm really proud of them," said advisor Marc Vermeire.

"It was awesome," said Spendiff. "We didn't think we were going to win but we did."

Friday Harbor wins a five-day trip on a University of Washington research vessel and advances from the 15-team regional competition to the National Ocean Sciences Bowl in Biloxi, Mississippi in April. Last year's team, which included Fyrqvist, Brady Ryan, Jacky Elder and Elliot Thomsen, finished second at the 2004 national bowl.

"John Fyrqvist pretty much took charge," Anderson said. "He was awesome."

Last year Brady Ryan answered most of the questions in the Jeopardy-style competition. Ryan returned to his high school and helped this year's squad. "Brady really knows his stuff," Paul said.

The 2005 team studied as a group."We actually had practices," Fyrqvist said.

That led to contributions from the entire team. "This year the talent was wide-spread," Fyrqvist said.

"We were all keen on winning it," Anderson said.

Title winners rarely receive sportsmanship awards, so the judges must have been impressed with Friday Harbor. "These guys are really good sports," Vermeire said.

In addition to hard work, Friday Harbor had a few good-luck charms on their side. Fyrqvist brought a golf ball he found while scuba diving in Bermuda last summer. He also wore a wool captain's cap that his sister Kati sported during her team's victory in the Knowledge Bowl Thursday, Feb. 11. Vermeire's 3-month-old son Charlie served as the team's mascot.

"Sarah and Ashley will be our anchors next year and we'll keep rolling with it," Vermeire said.

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