A one-meter string fixed at both ends vibrates in its fundamental mode at 400 hertz. What is the speed of the waves on this string in meters per second?

If you answered 800 meters per second, then you just might have a chance keeping up with Montezuma-Cortez High School’s Native American Science Bowl team.

The team of five young men outsmarted numerous other competitors last weekend in Colorado Springs to take top honors at the 10th Annual Native American Science Bowl Competition.

"It was big," said their coach Michael Ferland, MCHS science teacher. "We had schools from Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, California, Arizona — everywhere."

The MCHS team, composed of seniors Conrad Jacket, Kyle Bradley and Gerald Keetso II and sophomores Scottie Jacket IV and William Terrazas, competed in and won the large-school division against 16 teams in the final tournament, earning them a trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C.

"The 2001 NASB is an academic competition among teams of high-school students who answer multiple-choice and short-answer questions on scientific topics in astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, earth, computer and general science," Ferland said. "The competition consists of a round-robin followed by a single-elimination tournament format."

The team has been practicing since the beginning of the year during the lunch hour and after school.

"They’ve worked really hard and deserve this," Ferland said. "I’m really proud of them."

Team captain Conrad Jacket said he hopes the recognition the team received at the tournament will carry over into the community.

"There’s never been a team like this before," he said. "Mostly the athletes, they get all the attention and when it comes to Knowledge Bowl, they don’t get any attention — and our minds are supposed to be the best weapon we have. We’re Native Americans and we’ve each got minds and we’ve got to use them the best we can."

The team’s dynamics served as its special weapon, drawing on the individuals’ strengths to combine as an unbeatable unit.

"We all worked together," Conrad Jacket said. "We all have our certain subjects that we’re good at and when those certain subjects would come up, like computer science, Kyle would get them. When a bonus question would come up we’d all get together and come up with the answer."

Aside from the $250 scholarship each team member received, the individuals came away from the tournament with an experience they hope will carry over for the rest of their lives.

For Conrad Jacket, the tournament allowed him on opportunity to test his leadership and communication skills during bonus questions when the answers were a group effort.

"I’d just lean back and let everyone else give their ideas about it," he said. "I’d listen to their input and take the best answer. I guess that’s why I was pretty good at being a captain. I can speak up and make tough decisions."

Keetso’s challenge was to push his comfort zone and test his abilities before a large audience.

"I’m really not a person to be standing in front of everybody. The last round, we were up in front of everybody. I was scared and shaking."

Terrazas, plagued by the flu throughout the weekend, had to put forth an extra effort to overcome his physical inhibitions.

"It was hard to concentrate when my throat was hurting," Terrazas "I was still able to answer some questions but not as many as I would have liked."

Scottie Jacket said the highlight of the experience for him was meeting new people and finding pride in his fellow competitors.

"It was fun to meet new people and seeing how smart each Native American was," he said. "I was really proud of everybody."

Bradley, who will be using his scholarship money towards college at Cal-Tech next fall, also received top honors as the "All-Star" of the competition, answering the most questions correctly of anyone at the tournament during the morning rounds.

Conrad Jacket said the five got off to a slow start but built momentum along the way.

"We weren’t doing so good at the morning rounds," he said. "But then all of a sudden, when we got in the final rounds, we were in our element there. We knew what was expected of us."

This year was only the second appearance for MCHS at the tournament.

"Last year we had three (team members), and got third place," Conrad Jacket said. "This year we went with five and took first place. So we had strength in numbers this year."

Although the team will lose three of its members to graduation next year, a foundation for the program has been installed permanently at MCHS, the young men said.

"We’re building a structure right now, and when we leave, it’s still going to be here," Conrad Jacket said. "It’s something all young Native Americans can look up to. There’s actually some Native American kids out there who want to make a difference and are doing something about it — who are smart and intelligent. We’re not doing this through physical work, we’re using our minds and that’s what you’ve got to do."

Ferland emphasized that winning the tournament was no small feat.

"This is a big honor for these kids," he said. "It’s a very big honor for the state of Colorado. It was like the best in the West. We were the big-school winners. The small-school winners were from Ignacio, so Colorado took the whole thing."

The team eagerly looks forward to the trip to Washington, D.C., in May for the national competition.