Submitted photo.
For the third year in a row, the Science Olympiad high school team is a state champion.
Science Olympiad coach Barbie Hartwell said taking home the trophy for the third time was unreal.
“It was truly a whole team effort,” she said. “It doesn’t happen in many activities often where a team is state champions three years in a row.”
The high school’s team was also the only small school to place in the top 14 out of 25 schools competing at state.
Every member of the high school’s team placed at state, placing in the top three in 20 out of 23 events. In 13 of those events, they earned first place. They also placed fourth in two other events.
The results from the bridge competition have not yet been released, but Hartwell said the high school’s bridge team was able to hold the max 15kg required.
Senior and President Liz Mueting and her partner junior Ryleigh Hartwell placed first in three categories: flight, scrambler and trajectory. Mueting also placed second alongside junior Max Nokes and sophomore Nate Steinlage in an event called Codebusters.
Mueting said she is proud of the team for working hard and putting in extra time to study and work on their events before state on top of their involvement with sports and other activities.
She said she was proud of her personal performance, but was surprised by the results.
“It was just a good day, and a good way to end my senior year,” she said. “I know I put in the work to do good — it was just whether or not it would work out in the end.”
The middle school team placed fourth in the small schools division, with eight pairs placing in the top three in eight of 23 events. In four of those events, they earned first place.
Hartwell said she was proud of her team for doing so well in the competition after a difficult season where she was unsure if they would even make it to the state competition.
The state champion title comes after facing several hurdles this season, including losing most of their seniors on the team.
“I’m proud of them,” Hartwell said. “They tend to come on strong in the end, buckle down and pinpoint where they need to improve on their scores. They found a way to do it again.”
Junior Ryleigh Hartwell placed first alongside Mueting in flight, trajectory and scrambler. She also placed fourth alongside junior Georgia Martin in anatomy and physiology. Hartwell also competed in bridge and said it was the best bridge she had built thus far.
She said she was happy with how she and the teams performed at state and didn’t expect to place so high in some of the categories. She added the teams’ performances showed they are capable of winning again next year.
“Getting to be back-to-back-to-back champions proved to us that it wasn’t just the seniors last year that got us there,” she said. “It was a team effort overall, and it felt amazing to bring home that trophy.
Steinlage and his partner, freshman Bryce Mulvihill, placed first in environmental chemistry. Steinlage also placed first in experimental design along with junior Justin Shoemaker and freshman Adria Chrislip, and earned second place in Codebusters alongside Mueting and Nokes.
Steinlage earned his second state title this year. He said the intermingling of grades in each group allows him to act as both a mentor to the younger members and learn from the older members.
Steinlage said it felt great to stand on a podium knowing how much work he and the team had put into doing their best at state.
“I walked out of every test feeling I couldn’t have done anything else different at the event,” he said. “I came in knowing I had studied really well and knew my stuff. It felt good when it finally showed through at awards and all my hard work paid off.”
Hartwell said she has high expectations the team will be state champions again next year since they are only graduating one senior from the team.
“We’re going to savor the victory for a while and then regroup to go for it again next year,” she said.
Individual event results were:
1st Place:
Astronomy - juniors Max Mitchell and Max Nokes
Chemistry Lab – juniors Georgia Martin and Harlie Dougherty
Dynamic Planet – juniors Joshua Fortner and Max Mitchell
Environmental Chemistry – sophomore Nate Steinlage and freshman Bryce Mulvihill
Experimental Design – junior Justin Shoemaker, sophomore Nate Steinlage and freshman Adria Chrislip
Flight – senior, Liz Mueting and junior Ryleigh Hartwell
Forensics – juniors Georgia Martin and Harlie Dougherty
It’s About Time – junior Jonah Pratt and freshman Jason Ditty
Remote Sensing – junior Max Nokes and freshman Bryce Mulvihill
Rocks and Minerals – juniors, Joshua Fortner and Max Mitchell
Scrambler – senior Liz Mueting and junior Ryleigh Hartwell
Trajectory – senior Liz Mueting and junior Ryleigh Hartwell
WiFi Lab – juniors Justin Shoemaker and Preston Bruce
2nd Place:
Cell Biology – sophomore Ryan Bretthauer and freshman Bryce Mulvihill
Codebusters – senior Liz Mueting, junior Max Nokes and sophomore Nate Steinlage
Detector Building – juniors Justin Shoemaker and Jonah Pratt
Write It Do It – juniors Justin Shoemaker and Jonah Pratt
3rd Place:
Fermi Questions – juniors Harlie Dougherty and Max Mitchell
Forestry – juniors Joshua Fortner and Preston Bruce
Green Generation – juniors Joshua Fortner and Justin Shoemaker
4th Place:
Anatomy & Physiology – juniors Georgia Martin and Ryleigh Hartwell
Disease Detectives – junior Georgia Martin and freshman Bryce Mulvihill
Middle School Teams placing in the top 3 and earning medals:
FIRST PLACE: Flight (Lillian Mueting and Grayson Masterson)
FIRST PLACE: Forestry (Rachel Magette and Kylee Inskeep)
FIRST PLACE: Meteorology (Amelia Gurney and Dane Baumgartner)
FIRST PLACE: Rocks and Minerals (Elijah Clobes and Wesley Swann)
SECOND PLACE: Can’t Judge a Powder (Rachel Magette and Lucy Pratt)
SECOND PLACE: Storm the Castle (Elijah Clobes and Dane Baumgartner)
THIRD PLACE: Bio Process Lab (Lori Brooks and Evey Steele)
THIRD PLACE: Experimental Design (Lori Brooks, Hailey Hunt, and Lillian Mueting)
Reach reporter Jenna Barackman at [email protected]