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BV Science Olympians earns medals at prestigious Solon Invitational

ON THE WAY to compete in the Solon, OH tournament, the Boyceville Science Olympiad teams stopped by Cleveland, OH to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The students are shown in front of the Pink Floyd The Wall Exhibit. —photo by Steve Duerst

SOLON, OHIO – The Boyceville Science Olympiad team participated in the challenging Solon Ohio Invitational this past weekend against some of the strongest teams in the nation from many states including Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, California, and Kentucky, and placed in several events, with the high school team finishing in 36th place out of 67 teams and the middle school team finishing in 14th place out of 30 teams. Additionally, four of the top eight teams from last year’s national high school tournament and three of the top 14 teams from last year’s national middle school tournament were in attendance. There were no divisions based on school size or past performance.

The team departed by coach bus for Solon, Ohio on Thursday evening, and the bus traveled through the night before arriving at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on Friday. Friday was spent touring the museum before heading to Solon and retiring to the hotel for the evening.

Gold medals were earned by the following:

HS Trajectory – juniors Zach Kersten and Parker Coombs

Silver medals were earned by the following:

MS Storm the Castle – freshman William Engel and freshman Chelsi Holden

Bronze medals were earned by the following:

HS WIFI lab – sophomore Abigail Bauer and freshman Loralie West

Fourth place medals were earned by the following:

MS Bridge – Holden and freshman Zoey Hellendrung

Fifth place medals were earned by the following:

HS Bridge – Coombs and junior Caden Wold

MS Flight – Engel and eighth grader Devon Lee

MS Wheeled Vehicle – Engel and Hellendrung

Sixth place medals were earned by the following:

MS Flight – seventh grader Ivan Farrell and sixth grader Payton Lee

Seventh place medals were earned by the following:

HS Flight – Kersten and junior Becca Wyss

Eighth place medals were earned by the following:

MS Roller Coaster – freshman Samantha Stoveren and seventh grader John Stoveren

Six medals earned by the middle school team broke the previous school record of five event medals earned by Boyceville MS at Solon in 2019.

“It was so much fun to go with the students to such a tough tournament again” said head coach Andy Hamm. “This is the first time we have had the chance to go on this trip since before the pandemic and our students did an outstanding job not only representing Boyceville but also the state of Wisconsin as the only team from Wisconsin in attendance. Placing at this tournament is often more challenging than the state tournament and it is a great opportunity for our students to meet students from other parts of the country and learn new ideas and encounter new challenges. We look forward to continuing to grow and improve in preparation for regionals.”

Boyceville Science Olympiad now enters the regional tournament part of the season with the middle school regional at Boyceville on Saturday February 18th and the high school regional at Menomonie on Saturday March 4th. Boyceville Science Olympiad is coached by Andy Hamm, Russ Riehbrandt, and Steve Duerst.

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