A Flowery Branch High School student earned top honors in the Jackson EMC Energy Bowl out of 18 students representing schools in 10 different counties.

Jake Jacob, a junior in the Hall County school system, was recently declared the winner of the annual competition that challenges students’ knowledge of various science-related topics.

“There were a lot of other good people from good schools, so I wasn’t sure how I would do,” said Jacob.

“But I usually do pretty well on math and science topics on the academic team at school, so I was pretty confident going in.”

In the first two rounds of the competition, the contestants had to respond in a short-answer format. The five finalists with the highest scores moved on to the final, buzzer round of the competition.

North Hall High School student Tyler Stephens was among the top finalists. The other top competitors included Crystal Perkins of Gwinnett School of Math, Science and Technology, Natalie Dixon of Hebron Christian Academy and John Brawley of Grayson High School, who was the first runner-up.

All of the finalists received a Walmart gift card and an Apple iPod Nano. In addition to those prizes, Jacob also received a scholarship, a $1,000 educational grant for his school and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 2010 Washington Youth Tour, where he will learn about leadership and public service.

“I’m thinking about using the ($2,000) scholarship to attend UGA,” said Jacob. “I’ve been thinking about majoring in molecular biology and doing some research in that area.”

The energy competition has been an annual event since 1993.

“Each year, the energy bowl attracts a number of outstanding students, and we are honored to play a role in this academic event,” said Randall Pugh, Jackson EMC president and chief executive officer. “We believe in supporting educational and science-related programs within Jackson EMC communities.

The company will select a second youth tour delegate in the spring through the Youth Citizenship Award program, which “rewards students with outstanding community involvement.” The will receive the same prizes as the energy bowl winner.

Applications for the citizenship award will be available online at www.jacksonemc.com/citizenship beginning Dec. 14.