The CHS Science Olympiad team placed second at Regionals and qualified for the State tournament
February 14, 2022
On Feb. 12, 2021, eight CHS students jumped up and down on the auditorium stage as they were awarded their new trophy. “When they announced we got second place, it was a huge relief. We were all kind of scared that we wouldn’t even get in the top four and end up not going to state,” said sophomore Nicholas Sheppard, a team member. “But after we learned we were going, I was filled with joy because we worked really hard as a team to achieve that placement.”
After months of planning and hours of collaboration, Clayton High School’s Science Olympiad team placed second at their regional, a state qualifying tournament, held at Lindenwood University.
Science Olympiad events have been held online for over two years, due to the pandemic. Regionals was an opportunity for many new members to experience the suspense and excitement of in-person tournaments. Sheppard said, “Being in-person lets you socialize with both your teammates and other schools, and the award ceremony is a lot more memorable when you can celebrate as a team.”
Clayton took first place in six events: Chemistry Lab, Codebusters, Detector Building, Disease Detectives, Environmental Chemistry and Forensics. They came in top five for 19 other events. “The events I’m most excited about are the ones we took first place in at regionals. It would be huge for us if we can continue to place high in those events at state,” said Sheppard.
The Clayton team competed with a total of 15 students at regionals, which was significantly less than other high school or Division C teams. Sheppard said, “A big reason why our CHS team is so competitive is due to the experience most people have from Wydown.”
Sheppard continued on, “It was really fun for everyone to celebrate together and congratulate each other, especially when we beat Ladue in several events.”
With the state tournament approaching on April 9, team members will be working meticulously to perfect their events. Everyone has high hopes of bringing home another state trophy to Clayton High School.
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Sidra Major is a senior this year. Sidra initially joined the Globe because she loves to write, but quickly became enthralled with the journalistic perspective. As the Digital...
