By Isaac Guttman, ’10, News Editor

Shortly after the torch for Winter Olympics was extinguished, another breed of Olympians, the CCDS Science Olympiad team, competed at the Regional Science Olympiad competition at Raymond Walters College.  The team earned district honors at the Saturday, March 6 event, placing fourth out of 24 of the top teams in Cincinnati and qualifying for the State competition.

The impressive finish, with CCDS placing ahead of historically strong teams like Wyoming, Lakota West, and Mason, was the result of a team effort across the board:  Out of the 24 events at Regionals, CCDS placed in the top ten in 19 and medaled in 12. Coached by Mrs. Paula Butler, Mr.Francisco Borrero, and Mr. John Carriero, the team relied on all of its 15 members.

The team earned medals for the following events:

Chem Lab (1^st) – Jayne Caron,’10, and Sebastian Koochaki,’10

Experimental Design (1^st) – Jayne Caron,’10, Brad Hamoor,’12,  and Henry Pease,’12

Ecology (2^nd) – Elizabeth Blackburn,’11, and Michael Morgan,’12

Forensics (2^nd) – Kevin Baxter,’10, and Sebastian Koochaki,’10

Dynamic Planet (3^rd) – Marzieh Mirzamani,’10, and Alex Levinson,’12

Mousetrap Car (3^rd) – Kevin Baxter,’10, and Sebastian Koochaki,’10

Remote Sensing (5^th) -Dane Isburg,’12, and Kevin McSwiggen,’11

Technical Problem Solving (5^th) – Jayne Caron,’10, and Sebastian Koochaki,’10

Astronomy (6^th) – Kevin McSwiggen,’11, and Marzieh Mirzamani,’10

Ornithology (6^th) – William Bismayer,’11, and Gail Yacyshyn,’12

Picture this (6^th) – Kevin Baxter,’10, William Bismayer,’11, and Sebastian Koochaki,’10

Write It Do It (6^th) – Jonas Luebbers,’12, and Henry Pease,’12

“The Ohio Science Olympiad competition is one of the toughest in the nation because typically the contenders at the national competition, such as Centerville and Solan, come from Ohio,” said Butler.

Butler said she is looking forward to seeing how seniors Jayne Caron and Sebastian Koochaki, who have won the Chem Lab event at both the Northmont Invitational and Regionals, will fare against the top competitors in the state.

“While we will most likely not win as a team, we are looking forward to competing individually and doing as well as possible in each of our events,” said co-captain Sebastian Koochaki.

“The state event is a fantastic opportunity for younger, newer team members to experience a challenging and intense competition,” Butler added.

The State Competition will be held on Saturday, April 17 at The Ohio State University.

Photo courtesy of Mr. John Carriero.