The Mt. Ararat Eagles entered as reigning state champions, having represented Maine at the National Science Olympiad meet last year. But this year a repeat was not in the cards for the Eagles. Some bad breaks in some of the events were partly to blame but very strong showings from other schools also led to the Eagles being upended in defending their championship, according to the team.
The leadership of senior tri-captains Brianna Bishop, Alex Cornwall and Brooke Smith combined with the experience of seniors Caroline Minott, Hilary Warner-Evans, Kaite West, Samantha Messmer, Owen Blease, Caleb Grant, Serena Hall, and Emily Cason — and enthusiasm of many underclassmen — made this year’s strong finish possible.
The fifth place finish marks the 13th straight year the Mt. Ararat Eagles finished in one of the top five positions at the state competition.
Waterville High School finished first among the 18 teams competing. Waynfleet School placed second, and Cape Elizabeth High School finished third. Windham High School took fourth.
At the state Science Olympiad meet, students matched knowledge, wits, skills and engineering know-how in 23 events for which they’d prepared since last autumn. Students were allowed to participate in pairs for all events.
Relative rank in each event determined team points, and the three top scorers in each event received medals.
The top three teams received trophies.
The following students medaled in events for Mt. Ararat High School:
— Zack Collins and Bru Abreu, astronomy, first place
— Ryan Smith and Shea Nelson, astronomy, second place
— Emily Cason and Emily Eldridge, forensics, third place
— Owen Blease and Eric Stuckey, helicopters, third place
— Hilary Warner-Evans and Marie Ring, rocks and minerals, first place
— Jessica Wright and Sam Wood, towers, second place.
news@timesrecord.com
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