Preston Middle School team wins Science Olympiad state title, advances to national tourney
A Science Olympiad team from Preston Middle School won a state championship last weekend to earn a spot in the national tournament May 19-20 in Wichita, Kansas.
Preston teams finished first and third in the state tournament April 1 at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, with the Teal team claiming the title.
Fossil Ridge teams finished second and third in the high school division behind Homeschool Science Colorado, which won the title to qualify for the national tournament.
Several other Poudre School District schools had teams qualified for and competed in the state tournament, which had 30 teams apiece competing in the middle- and high-school divisions.
Teams from Lesher Middle School finished seventh and 13th, and teams from Kinard were ninth and 11th in the middle-school competition. Wellington was 10th and Webber 21st.
More: Fossil Ridge, Preston teams earn trips to National Science Bowl Finals
Teams from Poudre finished seventh and Rocky Mountain 17th in the high school competition.
Science Olympiad is a STEM-focused event that challenges teams of 15 students to compete in 23 different events, covering various scientific fields such as anatomy and physiology; bridge building; rocks and minerals; and forestry, organizers said in an email shared by Preston co-coach and teacher Elizabeth Loyd. Teams take a written exam on a specific subject matter; design and build a structure that will perform a specific action or showcase both technical and creative skills; and conduct experiments and answer conceptual questions.
The national tournament, now in its 39th year, brings together 120 top teams from across the country along with a global ambassador team from Japan.
Jackson Harper-Griffith and Loyd, both science teachers at Preston, are co-coaches of the state championship team. Team members are Vann Beecher, Kade Cowden, Nash Dietz, Alexis Dryg, Zoie Harding, Nathan Kim-Warren, Skylar Kreml, Azai Mlakar, Evan Mainz, Lauren Magelky, Kiley O’Connor, Diego Pardina, Richa Sajjan, Amita Suinn and Ella Wang.
Editor's note: This story has a correction. Preston co-coach and teacher Elizabeth Loyd's last name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Preston Middle School team wins state Science Olympiad, makes nationals
