Competing against top national and Ohio Science Olympiad
teams in two prestigious invitational meets in preparation for the regional and
state competition paid off for New Richmond Middle School which won its second Science Olympiad Cincinnati Regional championship
in three years March 1 at at UC Blue Ash College.
NRMS Team Black finished with a record low score of 60 and
with students medaling in every event, another record. NRMS Team Red finished in fifth place in the
16-team competition which included teams from Mason, Wyoming, Ross, Loveland,
Kings, Twin Valley, National Trail and along with 5 private schools including
Summit Country Day.
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| The 2014 New Richmond Middle School Science Olympiad team won its second Cincinnati Regional Championship in three years March 1 with a record low score of 60 points and a record of medals in all 23 events. |
“We have worked harder and practiced more than ever and it
has paid off,” said Science Olympiad coach Josh Grischow. “Getting more
experience with two invitational meets (Wright State University and Centerville’s
Maysig) really helped with making the kids comfortable for this
competition."
The results of those tournaments also allowed Grischow and his
assistants (New Richmond Middle School science department teachers Pam Hughes,
Tina Grippa and Doug Smiddy) to figure out their best 15 students regardless of
grade level to place on the same team.
“We had several kids practice late on Friday, then perform
in the school musical, wake up early on Saturday, compete with us all day, and
then go back to perform in the musical Saturday night,” noted Grischow. “We had one girl compete with us, play in a
soccer game, and come back for the awards ceremony, picking up a first place
medal in the process. It's a privilege
to have such multi-talented kids.”
Teams competed
individually or in groups in a series of 23 events which tested their knowledge
of science skills, processes, and applications in a wide range of science
disciplines including biology, chemistry, physics, technology, earth science,
and mathematics.
NRMS Team Black
finished first in seven events, second
in six events and had no finish higher than fifth in the 23 events in winning
the championship by 28 points over second place Mason Middle School.
NRMS Team Red had one first place and finished 9th
or better in 22 of the 23 events and finished 5th overall.
PPG Industries gave a $1,000 grant to help defray team costs.
The New Richmond Middle School Science Olympiad team advances to the Ohio state finals at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio on April 26, 2014 where 40 middle school and 40 senior high school teams will compete.
"We are now used to qualifying for the state tournament, but we haven't cracked the top 20 after three straight years," said Grischow. "Our goal is to work even harder and start becoming a threat state-wide."
NRMS Medal
winners:
Experimental Design: 1st
place Rachel Coons, Rachel Gastrich and McKenzie Miller, 5th place
Cheyenne Young, Max Ernst, and Kelly Schmidt
Meteorology: 1st
place Elise Bezold and Archer Maguire.
Metric Mastery: 1st place
Jacob Noble and Rachel Gastrich, 2nd place Kaleigh Pratt and Derick
Henderson.
Robo-Cross: 1st
place Teddy Mansfield and Luke Smiddy.
Simple
Machines: 1st place Liz Shinkle and Kaleigh Pratt, 2nd
place Rachel Gastrich and Jacob Noble.
Solar
System: 1st place Teddy Mansfield and Joey Hammill, 6th
place Madeline Walls and Bryce Kellerman.
Wheeled
Vehicle: 1st place Nick Swisher and Joshua Biren.
Write It,
Do It: 1st place Luke Smiddy and Natalie Holdsworth.
Helicopter: 2nd
place Quincy Ipsaro and McKenzie Miller, 5th place Alissa Brumbaugh
and Max Ernst.
Disease Detectives: 2nd
place Elise Bezold and Quincy Ipsaro.
Rotor Egg
Drop: 2nd place Joshua Biren and Nick Swisher.
Sounds of
Music: 2nd place McKenzie Miller and Quincy Ipsaro.
Anatomy: 3rd
place Katie Huss and McKenzie Miller, 5th place Jordyn Torrens and
Madeline Walls.
Boomilever: 4th
place Joey Hammill and Teddy Mansfield
Can’t Judge
a Powder: 3rd place Elise Bezold and Jacob Noble, 6th
place Alissa Brumbaugh and Kaleigh Pratt.
Road Scholar: 3rd place
Jordyn Torrens and Liz Shinkle, 4th place Natalie Holdsworth and
Archer Maguire.
Water
Quality: 3rd place Rachel Coons and Katie Huss.
Dynamic
Planet: 4th place Joey Hammill and Teddy Mansfield, 6th
place Cheyenne Young and Sebastian Johnson.
Entomology: 4th
place Archer Maguire and Travis Justice.
Rocks and
Minerals: 4th place Katie Huss and Natalie Holdsworth.
Shock
Value: 5th place Joshua Biren and Nick Swisher.
Crime
Busters: 5th place Rachel Coons and Travis Justice.
Heredity: 5th
place Luke Smiddy and Travis Justice, 4th place Jordyn Torrens and
Max Ernst.
Team Black MVP was Rachel Gastrich. Team Red MVP was Kaleigh Pratt.
Cincinnati
Regional
Science
Olympiad Results
|
Score
|
RANK
|
New Richmond Middle
School *
|
60
|
1
|
Mason Middle School *
|
88
|
2
|
Mason Middle School *
|
100
|
3
|
Wyoming Middle School
*
|
134
|
4
|
New Richmond Middle
School *
|
144
|
5
|
Ross Middle School
|
147
|
6
|
Loveland Middle School
|
154
|
7
|
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
|
171
|
8
|
Summit Country Day
|
173
|
9
|
St. Mark's Lutheran
|
182
|
10
|
Twin Valley South
Middle School
|
217
|
11
|
Immaculate Conception
Academy
|
223
|
12
|
National Trail Middle
School
|
323
|
13
|
Wyoming Middle School
*
|
334
|
14
|
St James of the Valley
|
345
|
15
|
Kings Jr. High School
|
363
|
16
|