The Science Olympiad team ended the season after placing third at the state competition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on April 12, missing the bid for nationals by four points — the closest the team has even been.
Most of the team members placed at the podium as second or third, facing off against 28 teams.
Several student teams placed in the top five and were awarded medals. Junior Grishma Unadkat and sophomore Jimmy Yu placed first as the material science team, and senior Keira Harter and junior Victor Chen placed first as the microbe mission team.
Additionally the anatomy team placed third, fourth place went to the dynamic planet team, and fifth place went to the bungee drop team.
The competing varsity team consisted of five seniors, seven juniors, two sophomores and one ninth grader. The team also had eight alternates that included five ninth graders, one sophomore and two juniors, and they competed in the trial events.
Senior Keira Harter, a team captain, showed her appreciation for the team and the effort they put into preparing for the competition.
“They put in some incredible work, and we saw that every day,” Keira said. “They were really deserving of everything they won and I was super proud of the team. We saw them come in every day and put in all the time and effort, and I know they did their absolute best.”
