BROOKINGS — When a group of students at Brookings High School decided they wanted to field a team for the state Envirothon competition, they knew they would have to iron out some of the finer points.

For example, what’s an Envirothon?

“None of us had even heard of it,” Marylin Lopez said. “It was Mr. Ganci who mentioned it, but when we found out there would be a team, everyone was interested.”

So the four — Mallory Wells, Marylin Lopez, Madelyn Berkenhoff and Brielle Smetana,  led by coach Lisa Kannegieter-Bahe —started studying up. Turns out, they were playing a lot of catch-up.

“We had no idea what we were getting into,” Wells said.

Envirothon competitions have been running since 1979. Spurred by the Earth Day environmental activism of the late 1970s, it started as the Environmental Olympics in Pennsylvania in 1979. It had 40 competitors by 1989 and was international by 1992.

Here’s how it works: teams study ahead of time, then report to a single site where they are trained and then tested on five areas: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils and land use, wildlife and changing current environmental issue — this year’s was alternative energy.

The teams’ combined scores on the five different disciplines — plus an oral presentation — are added together. Highest score wins.

As the decision to field a team was a little spur of the moment, BHS only had about six weeks to prepare. 

Coach Kannegieter-Bahe lined up expert speakers for a pair of Brookings teams, including experts from SDSU Extension and the state forestry department.

The girls knew they would have to each specialize to process all of the information in such a short time frame. But then, a funny thing happened.

“There are a lot of how-tos and techniques that can help you out. So we took that knowledge and then competed with that,” Lopez said.

“Then we realized we would have to specialize, but that on the test anyone could help. Maddie took on a lot of soil stuff,” Smetana added.

“We wanted to have constant communication, especially on the oral presentation,” Wells chimed in.

And just like that? A team was born.

“That was when we realized we could genuinely have a team — we could all come together and do it together,” Lopez said.

“That’s what I was most proud of, their approach,” coach Kannegieter-Bahe summed up. “They worked really well together.”

That’s high praise coming from Kannegieter-Bahe, who knows a thing or two about putting together a winning team. 

She coached the Brookings girls basketball team to a state championship in 2004. Not to mention several standout teams in Pierre later that decade.

And it turns out, teamwork trumps experience, at least at this year’s state Envirothon.

Host Rapid City Stevens had dominated the competition over the last decade. But the Brookings green team — Wells, Lopez, Berkenhoff and Smetana — took the top spots in soil, forestry and on their oral presentation to edge out Rapid City.

“We didn’t think it was even possible, it didn’t even enter our minds we would win,” Smetana said. “We were kind of going for the vibes, thinking it would help for other things, or for next year. It was stupefying to win. Like, wait, what?”

Just like that, they were state champs. And the surprises didn’t end there. 

Next week, the BHS team travels to Geneva, New York, to compete in the national Envirothon. They’ll compete against teams from all across the United States, as well as Canada and even some from Asia.

That’s some stiff competition. Massachusetts won last year, followed by a team from founding state Pennsylvania and a team from Ontario.

But then again, no one — not even the team itself — expected them to win the state competition. So stranger things have happened. And the Brookings team is dedicated. 

They’ve been practicing and studying since they got back, despite the school year ending.

“We all dedicate a lot of time to it, but it’s a lot of fun as well,” Smetana said.

The boys team, no slouches themselves, finished in fourth at state.

And since all the girls are juniors, they all said they hoped to participate again next year. And maybe start a new tradition of excellence at BHS.

“I hope it stays for a long time,” Lopez said. “I hope teams after we leave keep it going.”

Linehan is the Register’s managing editor and welcomes comments and tips at jlinehan@brookingsregister.com.