New Richmond Middle School Team Black finished with a record low score of 60 and with students medaling in every event, another record. New Richmond Middle School Team Red finished in fifth place in the 16-team competition which included teams from Mason, Wyoming, Ross, Loveland, Kings, Twin Valley, National Trail and along with 5 private schools including Summit Country Day.
“We have worked harder and practiced more than ever and it has paid off” said Science Olympiad coach Josh Grischow. “Getting more experience with two invitational meets (Wright State University and Centerville’s Maysig) really helped with making the kids comfortable for this competition.”
The results of those tournaments also allowed Grischow and his assistants (New Richmond Middle School science department teachers Pam Hughes, Tina Grippa and Doug Smiddy) to figure out their best 15 students regardless of grade level to place on the same team.
“We had several kids practice late on Friday, then perform in the school musical, wake up early on Saturday, compete with us all day, and then go back to perform in the musical Saturday night,” noted Grischow. “We had one girl compete with us, play in a soccer game, and come back for the awards ceremony, picking up a first place medal in the process. It’s a privilege to have such multi-talented kids.”
Teams competed individually or in groups in a series of 23 events which tested their knowledge of science skills, processes, and applications in a wide range of science disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, technology, earth science, and mathematics.
New Richmond Middle School Team Black finished first in seven events, second in six events and had no finish higher than fifth in the 23 events in winning the championship by 28 points over second place Mason Middle School.
New Richmond Middle School Team Red had one first place and finished 9th or better in 22 of the 23 events and finished 5th overall.
The New Richmond Middle School Science Olympiad team advances to the Ohio state finals at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio on April 26, 2014 where 40 middle school and 40 senior high school teams will compete.
“We are now used to qualifying for the state tournament, but we haven’t cracked the top 20 after three straight years,” said Grischow. “Our goal is to work even harder and start becoming a threat state-wide.”
PPG Industries gave a $1,000 grant to help defray team costs.
New Richmond Middle School Medal winners:
Experimental Design:
1st place Rachel Coons, Rachel Gastrich and McKenzie Miller, 5th place Cheyenne Young, Max Ernst, and Kelly Schmidt
Meteorology: 1st place Elise Bezold and Archer Maguire.
Metric Mastery:
1st place Jacob Noble and Rachel Gastrich, 2nd place Kaleigh Pratt and Derick Henderson.
Robo-Cross:
1st place Teddy Mansfield and Luke Smiddy.
Simple Machines:
1st place Liz Shinkle and Kaleigh Pratt, 2nd place Rachel Gastrich and Jacob Noble.
Solar System:
1st place Teddy Mansfield and Joey Hammill, 6th place Madeline Walls and Bryce Kellerman.
Wheeled Vehicle:
1st place Nick Swisher and Joshua Biren.
Write It, Do It:
1st place Luke Smiddy and Natalie Holdsworth.
Helicopter:
2nd place Quincy Ipsaro and McKenzie Miller, 5th place Alissa Brumbaugh and Max Ernst.
Disease Detectives:
2nd place Elise Bezold and Quincy Ipsaro.
Rotor Egg Drop:
2nd place Joshua Biren and Nick Swisher.
Sounds of Music: 2nd place McKenzie Miller and Quincy Ipsaro.
Anatomy:
3rd place Katie Huss and McKenzie Miller, 5th place Jordyn Torrens and Madeline Walls.
Boomilever:
4th place Joey Hammill and Teddy Mansfield
Can’t Judge a Powder:
3rd place Elise Bezold and Jacob Noble, 6th place Alissa Brumbaugh and Kaleigh Pratt
Road Scholar:
3rd place Jordyn Torrens and Liz Shinkle, 4th place Natalie Holdsworth and Archer Maguire.
Water Quality:
3rd place Rachel Coons and Katie Huss.
Dynamic Planet:
4th place Joey Hammill and Teddy Mansfield, 6th place Cheyenne Young and Sebastian Johnson.
Entomology:
4th place Archer Maguire and Travis Justice.
Rocks and Minerals:
4th place Katie Huss and Natalie Holdsworth.
Shock Value:
5th place Joshua Biren and Nick Swisher.
Crime Busters:
5th place Rachel Coons and Travis Justice.
Heredity:
5th place Luke Smiddy and Travis Justice, 4th place Jordyn Torrens and Max Ernst.
Team Black MVP was Rachel Gastrich. Team Red MVP was Kaleigh Pratt.