Story by Gavin Bartolome
Staff Writer
Photo by Contributor
The SPHS Science Olympiad team traveled to Rio Hondo College on Saturday, Mar. 1 to participate in the L.A. Regional Science Olympiad tournament. The competition hosted 60 teams from 39 different schools who each participated in 15 unique categories. Among the teams, SPHS placed with its two teams, Black and Orange, ranking third and fourth respectively when each team’s scores from each category were summed up.
The two teams SPHS sent consisted of 15 members who participated in a variety of STEM-related events — from robotics to biology and the newly introduced entomology, the study of insects and other arthropods. At the end, a team’s placement in each category was summed up to get their total score, with the lowest total score winning.
“For students who are really interested in science and are pursuing some kind of science career, it gives them exposure to just more science and helps them to enjoy science a little bit more,” SPHS teacher and Science Olympiad Coach Benjamin Ku said.
The Black team earned third place with 157 total points, being a top-five scorer in ten categories. The team excelled at Anatomy and Physiology, the structures and functions of the body, Forensics, the scientific testing of a crime scene, and Geological Mapping, interpreting geological data, all of which they placed first in. The team placed second in Fossils, Material Science, Microbe Mission, which had students analyzing microbes, and Wind Power.
The Orange team followed close behind, holding a total of 168 points. The group placed top ten in 11 of the competitions. The team placed second in both Astronomy, dealing with celestial objects and space, and Robot Tour, where members created robots to navigate a track and reach an end goal given a certain time limit and path.
“One of our goals was to provide an environment for students to be able to maximize their potential, and we did that by having the captains being focused on particular events. So in the past, we didn’t have captains that were focused on particular events, and this year, one of the things is that the captains really provided the resources to be able to help the students in each of the events succeed,” Ku said.
Students are recommended to put in three to five hours per week in the fall and up to eight hours during tournament season to prepare for competitions.
“There are some events where it’s brand new, we don’t know how to do it, and students don’t know anything about it … They have to create their own binders, learn their own stuff and then practice on tasks so that they can be successful at their event at the end of the year. So, you know, we’ve seen a lot of growth because they’ve worked really hard all year,” Ku said.
With both teams placing high within the regional tournament, SPHS will go on to compete in the Southern California State Tournament on April 12 at Caltech.