In little over a week, Knox County’s top science gurus will take on competitors from across Kentucky in the annual Science Olympiad competition being held at Western Kentucky University.
Knox Central High School and Knox County Middle School had five teams, and nearly 75 students, compete at the Somerset Regional Science Olympiad Competition on March 19th. Of the five, three teams earned the rights to advance to the State competition being held April 23.
Earning top honors at region, and looking to achieve the number one spot at State, was Team A from Knox Central High School. The team consisted of Anna Beth Callihan, Cassidy West, Jesse Keys, Clay Sprinkles, Carrie Bargo, Zach Callihan, Nick Gibson, Niven Achenjang, Cullen Reeves, Addison Osborne, Jaykob Hubbard, Cherish Gray, John Garrison, Chris Pyle, and Josh Cole.
Team members from Knox Central placed first or second in 14 of the 23 events. First place medals were in Bridge Building, Cell Biology, Chemistry Lab, Disease Detective, Green Generation, Invasive Species, and Write it Do it. This is the fourth consecutive year Knox Central has won the Regional championship. This team received the best score ever recorded at the Somerset Regional Tournament, according to sponsor Travis Mills.
Also earning top rankings at the Regional were Team A and B from Knox County Middle. Team A consisted of Laura Mills, Abram Mills, Amber Brown, Nick Ore, Savannah Ross, Morgan Warren, Bailee Stewart, Brayden Roark, Zach Blevins, Emily Mills, Jenna Davis, Lindsey West, and Abby Sharp. They placed second overall and received first place medals in Bridge Building, Invasive Species, Wind Power and Write it Do it.
Team B placed fourth overall and received first place medals in Bridge Building, Invasive Species, Wind Power, and Write it Do It. Team B consisted of Raley Halcomb, Tori Owens, Summer Mills, Cooper Collins, Kasey Stevens, Rebekah Mills, Cage Grubb, Kandace Messer, Jada Mills, Peyton Mayne, Janae Adams, and Kaeli Hale.
Science Olympiad competitions are like academic track meets, consisting of a series of 23 team events in each division, middle and high.
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. Emphasis is placed on active, hands-on group participation. By combining events from all disciplines, Science Olympiad encourages a wide cross-section of students to get involved.