SJA Team Places Second and Third in Vermont in Science Olympiad
Students who participated in the recent Vermont Science Olympiad learned they’d be competing in the national competition after the first place team in Vermont declined to attend. The SJA team won second and third placed.
St. Johnsbury Academy science students were awarded second and third place in the inaugural Vermont State Science Olympiad at Castleton University in Castleton, Vermont. The SJA Gold Team won second place, only three points out of first place, and the SJA Green Team came in third. The two Academy teams competed in all 18 of the possible events, and was the only to school to place in the top three in each. Since the first-place South Burlington team declined to participate in the national competition in Colorado, the SJA team will travel there in May to compete.
The Castleton University website describes the Science Olympiad: “Science Olympiad is a national non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing student interest in science, creating a technologically literate workforce and providing recognition for outstanding achievement by both students and teachers. These goals are achieved by participating in Science Olympiad tournaments, incorporating Science Olympiad into classroom curriculum and attending professional development workshops.”
Science Olympians participating in the event were Brandon Burmeister ’19, Zixian “Michael” Chen ’20, Zihan “Stephen” Dong ’19, Jiaxin “Jesse” Du ’19, Alex Gates ’19, Matthew Hunton ’18, Ziqi “James” Gong ’18, Zhiying “Selena” Guan ’19, Yiwei “Timberlake” Jiang ’19, Yichen “Allen” Lyu ’18, Ray Moses ’19, Orrin Olmstead ’19, Yifeng “Gloria” Pan ’20, Yiyi Liang ’18, Wenjing “Grace” Li ’19, JingHao “Vincent” Lin ’19, Marco Pajaro ’18, Kasey Rice ’21, Jia Jun “Chris” Shen ’19, Yanze “Jason” Wang ’19, Xiaotong “Jessica” Wang ’19, Liang Zeou “David” Wei ’19, Jianing Wu ’19, Victor Xie ’18, Qiongyin “Joey” Yan ’19, Luke Young-Xu ’21, Hanzhang “Carlos” Yu ’19, Han “Carrie” Zeng ’20, Tianshang “Calvin” Zhang ’19, Yiqi “Nick” Zhao ’20, Zhengyan “Henry” Zhang ’19, Liang “Leo” Zhao ’20, and Liyu “Ray” Zheng ’19.
The SJA teams and their results were as follows: Calvin Zhang and Jianing Wu placed third in Anatomy and Physiology; Gloria Pan and Ray Zheng placed first in Astronomy; Kasey Rice and Luke Young-Xu placed second in Chemistry Lab; Carrie Zeng and Chris Shen placed first in Disease Detectives; Chris Shen and Vincent Lin placed first in Dynamic Planet; Matthew Hunton and Calvin Zhang placed first in Ecology; Matthew Hunton and Alex Gates placed first in Fermi Questions; Luke Young-Xu and Kasey Rice placed first in Game On; Stephen Dong and Carlos Yu placed second in Game On; Alex Gates and Matthew Hunton placed third in Game On; Jesse Du and Joey Yan placed first in Helicopters; Carlos Yu and Stephen Dong placed second in Helicopters; Nick Zhao and Grace Li placed first in Herpetology; Carrie Zeng and Henry Zhang placed third in Microbe Mission; Stephen Dong and Carlos Yu placed second in Mousetrap Vehicle; Victor Xie and Allen Lyu placed third in Mousetrap Vehicle; Jason Wang and Jessica Wang placed second in Optics, Carlos Yu and Stephen Dong place second in Remote Sensing; Yiyi Laing and Victor Xie placed third in Remote Sensing; Matthew Hunton and Joey Yan placed first in Rocks and Minerals; James Gong and Matthew Hunton placed second in Thermodynamics; Carlos Yu and Stephen Dong placed third in Thermodynamics; Leo Zhao and Michael Chen placed first in Towers; Selena Guan and Jianing Wu placed second in Towers; Kasey Rice and Luke Young-Xu placed first in Write It Do It; Selena Guan and Jianing Wu placed third in Write It Do It.
The team’s coach, science faculty member Cristin Ashmankas, said, “I am incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication of all our Science Olympians. These students put hundreds and hundreds of hours into their preparations and training. From their outstanding performances at the Dartmouth University Invitational, MIT Invitational, fourth place finish at the Brown University Invitational and now their outstanding work at States, they have displayed true dedication, grace under pressure, teamwork, and skill. We are beyond pleased to be able to represent Vermont for the first time in Science Olympiad at the National level.”
