Chittenango team competes at Olympiad State Tourney

SYRACUSE, N.Y. >> More than 800 students arrived in frigid temperatures to participate in the New York State Science Olympiad Tournament at LeMoyne College on March 10 and 11.

Teams of 15 students have been working since August to build, test, study and prepare for the 25 different events ranging from astronomy to forensics and robot arm and everything in between. New York leads the nation in Science Olympiad participation with more than 430 teams entering regional events, competing to qualify for the 55 spots available.

Chittenango High School qualified with a fifth place finish in January at the Mid-State Regional Event, joining Fayetteville-Manlius, Jamesville-Dewitt, Cicero-North Syracuse and Camden schools from the region. The racquetball courts at LeMoyne were turned into a mini-helipad as teams tested and flew balsa wood rubber band powered helicopters, attempting to stay aloft as long as possible.

Junior Caleb Seale with teammate Abe Czarnecki raced against the 8 minute clock to get in their two qualifying flights and overcame double band failure, releasing the copter with seconds to spare. The hours spent building and testing paid off as the 93 second flight earned thema top 10 finish and a coveted state tournament medal. Seale and Czarnecki also placed tenth in Robot Arm and 15th overall in Towers while Trevor Crystal and Lucas Spiridilozzi missed medaling by less than a centimeter finishing Electric Vehicle in 12th place. Seniors Jonah Capella and Diego Prado earned a team high 5th place medal in Remote Sensing, demonstrat- ing in depth knowledge of satellite imagery and atmospheric sampling techniques. Also capping off long Science Olympiad careers were Dakota Prado, Devin Hodges, Anna Norman, Mike Capeling and Megan Pierce.

Members of the Chittenango team extended their congratulations to the tournament champions, Fayetteville-Manlius, who with the win advance to the national tournament in May. Members also thanked volunteer coaches Ms. Bennett and Mr. Muller for their tireless dedication to the students’ success.

PHOTO COURTESY CHITTENANGO HIGH SCHOOL Members of Chittenango High School’s Science Olympiad team competed in the New York State Science Olympiad tournament at LeMoyne College on March 10and 11.