The BASIS Independent McLean Middle School Science Olympiad team is headed to this year’s virtual state championships! The team has placed well in many competitions throughout the season, and the team's overall second place the February’s Regional Tournament secured their advancement to states.
In the regional event, following event teams took top placements and medaled in their events:
- Phoenix D. '25 & Caden Z. '25 - 1st place in Machines
- Caden Z. '25 & Oliver W. '26 - 1st in Circuit Lab
- Anika K. '25 & Carson S. '26 - 1st in Food Science
- Catie D. '26 & Hera Y. '26 - 2nd in Crime Buster
- Sophia W. '27, Rebecca C. '27 & William D. '27 - 3rd in Code Busters
- William D. '27 & Abhiram G. '26 - 3rd in Disease Detective
- Brandon D. '26 & Oliver W. '26 - 3rd in Fossils
- Abhiram G. '26 & Caden Z. 25 - 3rd in Density Lab.
- Kameron L. '27 & Mohan P. '27- 3rd place in Write It CAD It
This is our middle school Science Olympiad's third year competing and third year heading to states. In addition to the above students, Kaavya B. '25, Sanvi C. '26, and Srikha M. '26 will also be attending the state tournament.
Science Olympiad is one of several teams that have been competing virtually during the 2021-2022 school year. With all the changes necessary to safely practice and hold virtual tournaments, students have persevered through new platforms, new rules, and, in some cases, never having met their teammate in person.
“Competing virtually is not very compatible with the traditional SciOly structure. It is not as fun, not as interactive. Many of the building and hands-on events moved to all test base,” says Phoenix D. ’25, who is the student leader of the club. “We all had to learn a new technology and platform to do tournaments. But we've proven to be very flexible and adapt easily to this new environment.”
Last year, the team was named “Rookie of the Year,” based on its performance throughout the season. It also qualified for States last year, but the competition was planned for in person and had to be canceled due to the pandemic. That makes this year’s advancement even sweeter.
“The opportunity of participating is States means a lot to me as it means that the incentive of doing well and making a name for your school dramatically increases,” say Caden Z. ’26, who also qualified for last year’s state tournament.
Overall, the students are happy they are still able to compete in Science Olympiad.
“My favorite thing about Science Olympiad is that is that the subjects and topics that exists in that realm and world of it are very diverse, ranging for biological sciences like anatomy to digital and more modern electrical sciences like Write it CAD It,” says Carson. “Another favorite thing about Science Olympiad is how they use partners. I believe that this was a great thing for me because I really got to know some people and build relationships with a partner.”
Good luck at States! Go, Red-Tailed Hawks!