Competing at Louisiana State University against the best petroleum engineering student teams across the US, Canada, and Mexico, the Missouri S&T team won the 2026 SPE North America Student Symposium PetroBowl Championship—the first major PetroBowl win in the S&T petroleum engineering program's history. This momentous victory was the culmination of a dream, a complete rebuild, and a relentless belief that Missouri S&T belonged among the best.
Where It All Began
The story of this championship did not start in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It started in New Orleans in 2024, at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, where our coach and I watched the international SPE PetroBowl Championship unfold. We had a mutual epiphany—looking at each other in that moment, we realized we could replicate this at Missouri S&T.
We immediately got to work, rebuilding the team from the ground up, recruiting new students, and building a culture of preparation and ambition. That effort paid off in 2025, when we competed in Los Angeles, California, and finished as runner-up. It was a strong result, but it revealed the critical need to shift strategy if we wanted to move to the next level.
A New Strategy for a New Team
When we regrouped for 2026, I was the only returning member from Los Angeles. Our team—Abdul Mujeeb Kassim, Nene Maimo, Christopher Arthur, Ivan Baffour, and Raissa Dogbim—was built fresh, and we saw that as an opportunity to build the right way from the start.
In Los Angeles, our approach had been to have everyone cover as much material as possible. That strategy did not serve us well. This time, we split the team into focused areas—drilling, production, HSE, and so on. Instead of a team of generalists, we built a team of specialists, and that made all the difference.
We held regular practice sessions with our coach Makuach James Makeny, ran mock rounds, and spent countless hours verifying that our knowledge was current. In PetroBowl, outdated information costs points, so we instituted a strict protocol of cross-checking answers against the most up-to-date industry data. As international students juggling coursework and off-campus jobs, the personal costs were real—but so was the commitment.
The Road to the Championship
The competition in Baton Rouge assembled the top PetroBowl teams from across North America. Stacked up against formidable, exceptionally well-prepared opposition, we had to remain resolute in the confidence built through serious preparation.
In the quarterfinals, we faced Texas Tech University and advanced. In the semifinals, we beat Colorado School of Mines. That set us up for the final against The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), one of the most storied petroleum engineering programs in the country.
The final tested everything we had built. We came out strong and built an early lead, but UT Austin began closing the gap—answering back-to-back, narrowing our advantage point by point. With the margin down to five points, we made the call to hold the buzzer. Do not attempt unless certain. A wrong answer meant a deduction we could not afford.
Then a question came—one I was completely sure of. I pressed the buzzer, answered correctly, and widened the gap. From that point on, we could breathe. We won the 2026 SPE North America PetroBowl Championship.
What This Win Means
Missouri S&T had never won a major PetroBowl competition. When we came second in Los Angeles, people began to take notice—but this championship announced our presence. We are now a force to be reckoned with in North America.
Beyond the trophy, what I will carry long after graduation are the bonds forged through this journey. The late nights, the pressure of the competition floor, the shared joy of victory, these experiences tie people together in ways hard to put into words. PetroBowl also opened doors to a network I did not expect: brilliant, driven students from across the continent, each exceptional in their own right. Competing against them was an honor, and I am genuinely excited to stay connected and watch where their careers take them. As for Missouri S&T, I cannot wait to see what the next chapter of this team writes—because if this year proved anything, it is that we are just getting started.
Personally, this win represents the fulfillment of a vision. In that audience in New Orleans in 2024, it was a dream. Two years later, it is a reality. I am deeply grateful to the SPE and everyone who makes competitions like this possible—for students like us, these are the spaces where ambitions are sharpened, confidence is built, and identities as future energy professionals take shape.
The recognition at our university has been remarkable—articles, a podcast invitation, celebration across university platforms, and personal recognition at graduation on 15 May 2026. Industry professionals across the oil and gas sector reached out with congratulations, reinforcing just how meaningful a stage like PetroBowl truly is.
Throughout our preparation our coach Makeny kept returning to one message: believe that you are the winners. Believe in yourselves, and work toward pushing yourself into a position where you embody the spirit, motivation, and hard work of a winner. Those words became our standard. We also owe gratitude to David Carpenter for textbooks and guidance, Baojun Bai our department head, and alumni like Terry Palisch, 2024 SPE President, whose visits and encouraging words reminded us of what is possible.
Looking Ahead
As I graduate and pass the torch to the next generation, my hope is simple: maintain the standard. The international SPE PetroBowl Championship has been discontinued for the foreseeable future, but I believe this team has what it takes when the opportunity returns. For now, the goal is to defend our North American title and keep building—particularly at the undergraduate level.
To other SPE student chapters: you do not need a perfect strategy from the start. What you need is the willingness to adapt. We changed. We specialized. We trusted each other. And that shift was everything.
PetroBowl is more than a competition. It is a bridge between students and the global energy industry—where technical knowledge meets composure under pressure, teamwork is tested in real time, and the next generation of energy professionals begins to find their footing. Missouri S&T is proof that with belief, preparation, and the courage to change your approach, any team can rise to the top.
