Two Amherst teams composed of members of the Amherst Class of 2024 participated in the State Investment Bowl Championships held May 15 in Madison, with one of the teams claiming third overall. The two teams consisted of Seniors Colton Dombrowski, Carson Zeitlow, Alex Martin, and Aeden Kealiher (Team #1) and Presley Firkus, Maizee Martin, Max Voss, and Aleah Breed (Team #2).

Coach Jason Pickering said, “I am really proud of these students! They studied hard and took the competition seriously. The top three finish at the State finals is a first for Amherst, but I hope it will inspire students next year to try and repeat this success. We had a great day, and it ended with cheesecake.”

Both teams advanced to the State finals on the heels of their top two performances in Regional play. Based on point differential, Amherst team #1 entered the final rounds of the tournament as the #2 seed while team #2 secured the 13th seed. Team #1 received a first round bye due to their high seed while team #2 secured a key opening-round victory to move into a match against their fellow Amherst teammates on team #1.

After a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire match, Amherst team #1 eventually knocked out Amherst team #2. Amherst team #1 continued on track through the bracket, winning another round to advance to the semi-finals, which proved a game no one would ever forget. In a back-and-forth match between Nekoosa and Amherst, Nekoosa prevailed, advancing to the final round and placing Amherst in the third-place match, which they then won to round out the top finishers.

Teams answered questions about personal finance, economics, and financial leaders to gather points to beat out their opponents. The goal of the financial investment bowl is to expand the financial and economic education of the participants. 

Pickering said he was proud of both teams and is anxious to see what the future will hold. He added that, in the future, he expects more teams to make it to the State Investment Bowl and possibly place even higher than the teams did this year. A championship win may not be far out of reach.

Editor’s note: Alex Martin contributed to this report.

The Amherst Investment Bowl teams.