In a year of challenges, Knox Science Olympiad team are problem solvers

Students are shown constructing one of their many projects for Science Olympiad.

In his first year of coaching the Science Olympiad team at Knox Central, William Bowling is proud of his students for overcoming barriers to place at the state tournament.

“This year has presented several challenges, from a late start to virtual competitions,” explained Bowling, who is also the engineering teacher at the school.

“I’m incredibly proud of how well our team performed despite all of these obstacles along the way. The state tournament is always extremely competitive, even in a virtual year, but our students have outdone themselves yet again.”

The students certainly outdid themselves, as Bowling stated.  Here is a list of how each team placed at the state tournament:

Anatomy
6th – Lynnsey Cole & Nate Partin

Astronomy
3rd – Devin Carpenter
9th – Gaven Smith & Drew Hale

Boomilever
1st – Jaxon Lawson & Josiah Brown
3rd – Connor Mullis & Alex Smith

Chemistry Lab
7th – Macy Whitehead & Nate Partin

Circuit Lab
7th – Logan Callihan
13th – David Stewart

Codebusters
18th – Madison Payne, Taylor Payne, Jadyn Belile

Designer Genes
11th – Lynnsey Cole & Skylar Carnes
13th – Devin Carpenter & Kaylee Smith

Dynamic Planet
10th – Madison Payne

Experimental Design
13th – Drew Hale, Jadyn Belile, Taylor Payne
15th – Cadence Spencer, Devin Carpenter

Forensics
4th – Lynnsey Cole & Skylar Carnes

Fossils
4th – Macy Whitehead & Nate Partin

Gravity Vehicle
3rd – Alex Smith & Connor Mullis
7th – Jaxon Lawson & Josiah Brown

Machines
11th – Logan Callihan

Ornithology
8th – Lynnsey Cole & Macy Whitehead

Water Quality
3rd – Madison Payne & Lynnsey Cole

Write It CAD It
1st – David Stewart & Kaylee Smith
3rd – Josiah Brown & Madison Payne

Write It Do It
2nd – David Stewart & Kaylee Smith

“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of students to work with my first year coaching, and can’t say enough how proud I am of each one of them,” said Bowling.