By Dana Sternthal
Staff Writer
The Mira Costa Science Olympiad placed eighth in the Los Angeles County Regional Science Olympiad Tournament over ski break, qualifying the team to compete on April 6 in the Southern California State Final at Canyon High School in Anaheim.
If the team comes in first place at SCSF, the Mustangs will advance to the National Tournament on May 17 and 18 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
“This is our first time advancing to state,” Science Olympiad advisor and Costa biology teacher Jessica Bledsoe said. “Last year we placed 13th, and this year we did better than every South Bay school. It’s a pleasure to work with a group of students who put so much effort into everything that they do.”
Students in Science Olympiad are coached and prepared for intellectual competitions in each tournament. Each school is allowed to bring 15 students and two alternates to the tournament.
“What you do at a practice depends on which events you compete in,” Co-President senior Katherine Bryan said. “Some people test their builds, such as a robot arm and salinometer, while others solve practice problems or research. We then convene for a fun activity, like a scavenger hunt or board games.”
Costa received medals in six events at LACRSOT: Chemistry Lab, Designer Genes, Disease Detectives, Fermi Questions, Forensics and Thermodynamics.
“We are scored based on written portions and how well we perform in build tests,” Science Olympiad member junior Michelle Tran said. “Regionals were really fun, and I regret not joining Science Olympiad sooner.”
Bryan and senior Jagriti Agrawal placed first in Forensics, and senior Douglas Meyer medaled in Fermi Questions, Chemistry Lab and Designer Genes.
“Agrawal and I were really excited to see our hard work pay off,” Bryan said. “We started by researching different forensics topics from mass spectroscopy to hair analysis and then used the information to help us solve various crime scenes.”
After several hours of practice and studying, the team members hope to advance to the national competition this year and continue their passion for science and technology in the future.
“Everyone studied and prepared for the competition,” Meyer said. “We met for four hours a day for a week before the competition, and we’ll be studying every day over spring break for state. I can’t wait to compete.”
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