New Trier’s Science Olympiad Team Secures State Title

New Trier High School claimed victory as the science olympiad state champions. The team secured the title on April 20, at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This marks their return to the national finals on May 25 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, a feat they last accomplished in 2018. Science olympiad tournaments involve teams of 15 students competing in 23 events across various science disciplines such as astronomy, forestry, forensics, and chemistry. Teams are ranked based on their performance in each category, with the lowest total points securing the win.

In the state championships, New Trier emerged victorious among 24 teams, earning first place in eight events and finishing second in five others, securing a total of 84 team points. This placed them ahead of runner-up Stevenson with 86 points. The team excelled in events like anatomy and physiology, astronomy, dynamic planet, geologic mapping, robot tour, flight, forensics, and tower. Several team members, including Malachi Noel, Vivian Chen, Prashu Rao, Tiana Wu, Kevin Huang, Varun Murali, and Stephen Zhao, contributed significantly to the win, with multiple first-place finishes.

Other team members who clinched medals included Andrew Xia, Sumi Pandiri, Kaci Morris, Nicholas Circolone, Brian Ren, Elan Hao, Justin Lu, Katie Kang, and Sofia Yang. New Trier’s journey to the state championships began with a dominant performance at the regional tournament on March 9 at Oakton College, where they won 18 of the 23 events. The team’s success in the science olympiad is supported by the New Trier Educational Foundation, which provides funding for the program.

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