The Science Olympiad team has once again made it to State this year, and of the 52 teams competing this year, they placed eighth overall with five individual medals.
Science Olympiad has made it to the State competition multiple times in the past and placed fourth last year. Although this placement is a slight drop, the team is still happy to compete at State and place as high as they did.
“Overall I really enjoyed my time there, and I think we tried our best as a team. We got eighth at State, and that’s still pretty good out of 52 teams. No matter what, I think everyone tried their best and we did what we could. We’re doing this to have fun, and I know our events are taking tests pretty much, but it’s what we want to do and we’re doing it,” said JV Science Olympiad member Cypress Folk.
The lowest score wins at State, where first place gains one point, second gains two, and so on. The team finished with a score of 353. Members of the team put hours of practice into Science Olympiad, studying for their categories and working to get better for every competition.
“Per event, we usually spend around an hour to two hours per subject per week. Most of the time it is in the library. Sometimes it’s at someone’s house over the weekend. Sometimes it’s just scattered throughout the school, especially for build events where you need a pretty big area,” said varsity Science Olympiad member Jason Cramer.
As always, the team is working toward improving for next year. Unfortunately, this will be the last year for the seniors of the team, but the experience won’t go to waste.
“A lot of it is the work ethic and being able to spend time outside of school on other things. I learned how to manage my time better, and I’ve made foundations in scientific study and I can use that experience in college,” said varsity Science Olympiad member Abby Hsiao.