Science Olympiad won second place in Science Olympiad State Tournament out of fifty-one competitors. With this achievement, New Trier will be one of only two teams from Illinois to represent the state in the upcoming national tournament, hosted by the California Institute of Technology. In the event, the team won five first-place medals, six second-place, five third-place, and three fifth-place.

It has been challenging throughout the year because most competitions are online this year. A joy of the sport, Alexander Howe—Applied Arts teacher and Science Olympiad sponsor—said is the shared experience of going to competitions. “We’re traveling on buses together. We are staying in hotels. We’re meeting kids from other schools.”

Yet, due to the ongoing pandemic, most of the competitions have been virtual. All of last year’s competitions were done over zoom with the competitors at home. This year, luckily, competitions have taken place at New Trier with the team coming together during it, but there is still part of the experience missing.

The deprivation of in-person competitions has been draining for Science Olympiad competitors. Senior and Co-head Elizabeth Feoktistov talked about “a goal-setting spreadsheet for the team, which is one of the things we implemented to increase motivation.”

Their efforts have worked, as the Science Olympiad team got first in a recent regional competition hosted by Oakton college. As well, they made it to nationals, and are hoping for success there.

First place:

• Experimental Design—senior Elizabeth Feoktistov, junior Charlotte Calkins, and sophomore Tiana Wu
• Codebusters—senior Jacob Zheng, junior Annabel Ma, and junior Luke Peebler
• It’s About Time— senior Jacob Zheng and sophomore Andrew Xia
• Chemistry Lab—junior Annabel Ma and junior Zijun Deng
• Remote Sensing—junior Luke Peebler and freshman Malachi Noel

Second place:

• Astronomy—senior Maryanne Xu and junior Isaac Noel
• Dynamic Planet—senior Mia Moline and freshman Malachi Noel
• Cell Biology—junior Annabel Ma and junior Isaac Noel
• Green Generation—junior Charlotte Calkins and junior Luke Peebler
• Ping Pong Parachute—sophomore Sumi Panidri and sophomore Tiana Wu
• Trajectory—sophomore Sumi Panidri and sophomore Alivia Geo

Third place:

• Bridges—senior Elizabeth Feoktistov and Mia Moline
• Wright Stuff—senior Elizabeth Feoktistov
• Ornithology—senior Maryanne Xu and junior Charlotte Calkins
• Rocks and Minerals—senior Mia Moline and freshman Malachi Noel
• Disease Detectives—junior Isaac Noel and junior Zheng Deng

Fifth place:

• Anatomy and Physiology—senior Elizabeth Feoktistov and junior Zijun Deng
• Forensics—senior Maryanne Xu and sophomore Andrew Xia
• Detector Building—senior Jacob Zheng and sophomore Andrew Xia