The Watseka Jr. High School Science Olympiad Team competed at the Illinois State Science Olympiad competition on Saturday at the University of Illinois against teams across the state. The team finished in 13th place in Class A in 23 STEM events and 5 Trial Events. They earned medals in 2 events, along with medals in 2 trial events.

In Mission Possible, Andrew O'Brien and Kade Legan earned State Runner-up medals. The Experimental Design team of Trey Bruens, Seth Gowler, and Seth Wittenborn took 4th place medal honors. In the Trial Events, Jack Anderson and Haddie DeVries took 4th place medals in Botany and Quinn Butzow and Lainey Ulitzsch earned a State Championship in GeoCaching.

Earning Top Ten finishes were Ellie Hutchinson and Brookelyn Hoppe with 6th place in Water Quality and 7th Place in Heredity, Law Rigsby and Kale Gerdes earned 8th place in Rocks and Minerals. Seth Gowler and Trey Bruens also took 8th in Machines. The Pentathalon Team of Ava Baier, Helena Cluver, Colton McTaggart, and RJ Peters were 6th and Kade Legan and Hudson Knapp took 7th in Ping Pong Parachute.

"We are very proud of the accomplishments of this team and how well they competed against the best in the state, being able to come home with state medals and top ten finishes. It was a great experience for our students and look forward to how we can build upon it next year! " - Coach Troy J. Simpson

94.1 WGFA