This month the Science Olympiad team competed at two national-level competitions, placing extremely well. 

This competition was a way for the team to measure themselves against some of the best teams in the nation. 

“I thought going to a nationals competition was a great experience as the team was able to test their knowledge in a more in-depth way due to the harder tests,” Tejas Iyer ‘22 said. “We also faced tougher competition given the high caliber and number of teams there. It was a great opportunity to see where we stood as a team.”

The team placed 50th out of 270 teams, climbing 29 places from last year. 

“I think we did really well,” Hania Timek ‘23 said. “We actually did our best placement to this date. In comparison, we got eighth at states last year, but now we are at a much higher level, a national level.”

Not only did the team place really well at the competitions, but individual events also placed very well. 

“My best event at the national tournament was anatomy and physiology,” Timek said. “I got 19 out of 250 teams. I was proud of myself for that one. Then at SONI we also did really well. My events ended up getting, I think also somewhere in the 20s. All of them averaged out to about 20th place.”

Not only did Timek’s events place high, but so did the rest of the team’s, with Ping Pong Parachute placing 2nd. 

“Trajectory, Gravity Vehicle, Wright Stuff, Bioinformatics, and Anatomy (all of which were top 25,)” Iyer said. 

East also competed against much larger teams.

“Some of the other teams have massive teams that hundreds of people try out for, and our school is pretty small by comparison, but it was a fun challenge,” Cole Rhuele ‘22 said.

For the online events, the team submitted videos and had to take tests online. 

Coming off such successful weeks of competition, the team is trying to continue to study and work for the invitational at the University of Michigan on Feb. 18, and Allendale the next week. 

“This season is going really well, and we have been doing pretty well, especially in comparison to years prior,” Rhuele said. “We’re excited to see how much we can improve over the rest of the year before regionals and states in the spring.”

Next year the captains will be Mia Kirchgessner and Hania Timek. 

“I’ll kind of manage the study events, and Mia will manage the build events. I also want to get as many people enjoying it as possible,” Timek said. 

Together they plan to build a strong club continuing the success they have had this year. 

“My goal for next year is to get more enrollment for our club and to lead more build events,” Kirchgessner said. 

Reflecting on his past four years, Iyers said, “Science Olympiad has shown me the value of experience and to keep trying until I accomplish what I set out to do.”