For the third year in a row, a quartet of undergraduates will represent UMES next month at the 26th annual Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament.
Teams from 48 of the nation’s historically black institutions will vie for a $50,000 institutional grant in the quiz competition Honda has sponsored since 1989. Seventy-six teams participated in qualifying tournaments earlier this year hoping to earn a spot among the “Great 48.”
Senior Aleaya Bowie, senior Evan Bryant, juniors Mariah Dennis and Jonathan Wheeler will represent UMES.
Wheeler, Bryant, and Dennis competed a year ago; Dennis is a three-time team member.
“Our students take preparation for this competition very seriously,’ Coach James M. White said. “They understand it is an honor and privilege to represent UMES.”
“Returning to the national All-Star Challenge is a great chance for them to showcase themselves and their school,” White said.
Since it began competing in the event in the 1989-90 academic year, UMES has earned a cumulative $115,000 in grants, including $3,000 a year ago. The university’s best single-season performance was during the 2003-04 school year, when it came home with $26,000 for a strong performance in the national event.
“I’m so pleased our students have this opportunity to compete against some of our nation’s brightest HBCU students,” UMES President Juliette Bell. “Dr. White works very hard to make sure they are well-prepared, and I know they will acquit themselves well.”
The 2015 Honda Campus All-Star Challenge National Championship Tournament to be will be March 21-25 in Torrance, Calif.
Teams in the tournament each year visit Honda’s North American headquarters, which provides students with an up-close experience of how one of the world’s most progressive and innovative car manufacturers operate.
“Students come away from that experience impressed, let me tell you,” White said.
