ANN ARBOR, MI – The Boyceville Science Olympiad team participated in the challenging University of Michigan Invitational this past weekend against some of the strongest teams in the nation from many states including Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Nevada and placed in several events, with the high school team finishing in 33rd place out of 59 teams and the middle school team finishing in 17th place out of 31 teams. There were no divisions based on school size or past performance.
The team departed by coach bus for Ann Arbor, MI on Thursday evening, and the bus traveled through the night before arriving at the University of Michigan on Friday. Friday was spent touring the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, OH before heading back to the hotel for the evening.
Fourth place medals were earned by the following:
- HS Electric Vehicle – juniors William Engel and Jon Madison
- MS Write It, Do It – ninth grader Isabelle Feeney and seventh grader Logan Monfort
Fifth place medals were earned by the following:
- HS Towers – sophomores Devon Lee and Sawyer Garbe
- MS Helicopters – eighth grader Jillian Boesl and seventh grader Aiden Feeney
- MS Air Trajectory – Montfort and eighth grader Easton Lange
Sixth place medals were earned by the following:
- HS Towers – Engel and Madison
- MS Towers – Isabelle Feeney and eighth grader Clayton Score
“This was such a great opportunity for all of our students.” said head coach Andy Hamm. “I can’t overstate how challenging this tournament was, and this provides our students with an outstanding opportunity to compete against several of the top teams in the nation. Placing at this tournament is often more challenging than the state tournament and it is a great opportunity for our students to meet students from other parts of the country and learn new ideas and encounter new challenges. We look forward to continuing to grow and improve in preparation for regionals.”
The entire team and coaching staff would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the parents, community members, and staff members who have helped and made a trip like this possible. In particular, the team would like to extend a thank you to the parent/adult chaperones who attended with the team, including Brad and Laura Rasmussen, Brandee & Jonathan Farrell, Rich Madison, Jacob Strain, and Christina and Lenny Lange.
Boyceville Science Olympiad now enters the regional tournament part of the season with the rescheduled middle school regional at Boyceville on Saturday March 8th and the high school regional at Menomonie on Saturday March 1st. Boyceville Science Olympiad is coached by Andy Hamm, Russ Riehbrandt, and Tony Pelikan.