The Socorro High team: Front row (from left): Elizabeth Moellenbrock, Andres Jaquez, Suhitha Kantareddy, Kesiah Mapalo, Kilee Mounyo, Cody Johnston, Sky Sessions, Addison Spitz, and Perrin Aguilar. Back row: Dayzie Whitehorse, Kaden Dow, Rio Sessions, Gavin Spitz, Elias Zheng, and Angelica Jaquez. The head coach is Dr. Ezzat (kneeling). Assisting coaches are Mr. Gorum and Ms. Aguilar. Not in picture: Lynn Planck and Anna Zagrai.
Courtesy photo

 

The brightest students from Socorro High School, Cottonwood Valley Charter School and Sarracino Middle will be competing with teams of students from other New Mexico schools at the 2022 Science Olympiad state finals this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, at New Mexico Tech.

The Olympiad spans two days; virtually on Friday and in-person on Saturday.

“It’s exciting to have a hybrid event, where there is an opportunity to bring students from across the state to New Mexico Tech,” said Sharon Sessions, Director. “I know they love the competition and the experience! They work so hard for it.”

Student “intelletes” from 20 middle schools and 20 high schools will tax their scientific knowledge – as well as their motor skills – in dozens of spirited academic contests both virtually and at various locations across the Tech campus. These Science Olympians bring their dreams of winning gold, silver and bronze as they fly model planes, build bridges and wi-fi labs, examine fossils, and solve a crime in a quest for Olympic-style medals.

Science Olympiad is a nationwide program that uses tournament competition as a means to challenge and motivate science students in their academic pursuits. The competition requires teamwork, cooperation, planning and months of practice, providing students with a working knowledge of facts, concepts and processes, as well as helping them develop thinking skills through practical applications of science and engineering.

Science Olympiad competitions are not unlike academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division (Division B is middle school; Division C is high school). Each year, a portion of the events are rotated to reflect the ever-changing nature of genetics, earth science, chemistry, anatomy, physics, geology, mechanical engineering, and technology. By combining events from all disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages a wide cross-section of students to get involved. Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on group participation.

“Science Olympiad competition is an excellent extracurricular activity that includes STEM events which enrich our students academically and prepare them for college,” said Azza Ezzat, head coach for the Socorro High team. “The preparation for this collegiate-level competition exposes students to technology that they wouldn’t otherwise encounter and helps them develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.”

In addition, students are recognized for their academic endeavors, inspiring them to remain on a long-term path toward a STEM profession.

Local students competed in the Southwest Regional Science Olympiad Competition at Western New Mexico University in Silver City on February 21.

“Because the students stayed home for more than a year working individually, collaboration has been a difficult challenge for them,” Ezzat said. “Still, many of the students worked often from home because of scheduling difficulties, or due to not feeling well.”

She said having new materials and events to study and work on, in addition to their school load, is a challenge to them.

“Even with these challenges, the team was able to pull through together and do very well at the regional competition,” Ezzat said.

Socorro High students placing first in the regional were Liz Moellenbrock and Rio Session in Astronomy; Liz Moellenbrock and Addison Spitz in the Cell Biology event; Elias Zheng, Cody Johnston and Lynn Planck in the Code Buster event; and Liz Moellenbrock and Angelica Jaquez in the Rocks and Minerals event.

Suhitha Kantareddy and Kesiah Mapalo placed second in the Environmental Chemistry event.

Gavin Spitz and Anna Zagrai came in third in the Green Generation event.

The CVCS Sci-Oly Team: Front row (from left): Geovanni Vazquez, Anastasia Zagrai, Kathleen Johnson, Avery Timmons, Abby Cadol, James Si, and coach Tommie McSherry. Back row: Daniel Bowles, Rylan Timmons, Riley Sewel, Kailyn Woods, Niki Planck, Keller Ford, Timur Aitbayev, and assistant coach Greg Spitz. Not in picture: Logain Aguilar, Jaylyn Olguin, Ashley Navrotsky and Micayden Gallegos.
Courtesy Photo

“There were no on-site building events held at the regional level this year because it was held virtually, disappointing many of the team members who were looking forward to participating in person,” Ezzat said.

Going to Silver City to compete is their only out-of-town trip as the state competition is held in town, she added.

“We would like to thank all of our sponsors: teachers, parents, and supportive groups especially NRAO which financially supported us,” she said. “The team members are looking forward to participating and performing well at the state competition.”

The Cottonwood Valley Charter School team also fared well at the regional, coming out on top.

First-place winners were Niki Planck and Kailyn Woods for Crave the Wave, James Si and Anastasia Zagrai for Crime Busters, Logain Aguilar, Jailyn Olguin, and Geovanni Vazquez for Experimental Design, and Anastasia Zagrai and Rylan Timmons for Meteorology,

Second place winners were Timur Aitbayev, Riley Sewell, and Geovanni Vazquez for Codebusters, Kailyn Woods and Logain Aguilar for Green Generation, Keller Ford and Rylan Timmons for Ornithology, and Abby Cadol and Niki Planck for Solar System.

Third-place finishers were Daniel Bowles and Ashley Navrotsky for Anatomy and Physiology,

Kailyn Woods and Ashley Navrotsky for Disease Detectives, Daniel Bowles and Anastasia Zagrai for Food Science, Keller Ford and James Si for Road Scholar, and Abby Cadol and Kathleen Johnson for Rocks & Minerals. Timur Aitbayev and Riley Sewell placed fifth in Dynamic Planet.

“CVCS students in the sixth to eighth grades have been working hard since last fall preparing for the regional and state competitions,” said coach Tommie McSherry. “That hard work paid off as the team took first place at the Southwest Regional competition.”

The regional competition was held virtually this year and not all events were offered, so not every competitor has had a chance to showcase their skills and effort.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to do that at the state competition where all events will be held either virtually for the study and lab events, or in-person for the build events,” she said.

The New Mexico Science Olympiad began in 1986 and is hosted each year by New Mexico Tech. This academic interscholastic competition consists of individual and team events for which students prepare during the school year. Each team can have up to 15 members, with two “intelletes” competing in most competitions. The winning teams in both the middle school and high school levels will represent New Mexico at the 38th Annual Science Olympiad National Tournament hosted in partnership with Caltech from May 9 to May 14 – and in a virtual format.

John Larson, El Defensor Chieftain