Science Olympiad Teams Win State Honors

    • Published May 4, 2021

      Williamson County Schools Science Olympiad students are showing that they have excellent chemistry at the State competition.

      Ravenwood High students secured a second place overall finish with a total of 11 individual awards, including three first place honors. Eli Bullock-Papa and Sophia Wang placed first in the Botany category; Ammar Farra and Ryan Jordan won the Chemistry Lab competition; and Sophie McAtee and Aaron Wu earned first place in the Geological Mapping category.

      "Each group of students is special and each year offers further insight for the future competitors," said RHS chemistry teacher Avrill Buerstetta. "This group was very flexible and did not easily get stressed. Competing in virtual competition did not always go smoothly, but the students persevered."

      Brentwood Middle's team earned nine individual awards, which solidified their fourth place overall finish. BMS students Jacob Dong and Katherine Perez placed first in the Codebusters category.

      "These kids are driven to do well," said BMS science teacher Caitlin Meador. "The team over the past six years has always brought home a trophy from the State competition. They are just amazing. I've worked with some of these students for two or three years now, and I can tell you without a doubt that they are some of the brightest, most driven and intelligent young people I've had the pleasure of working with."

      Woodland Middle students Aditya Pradeep and Vendant Misra earned the first place medal in the Botany category.

      Sunset Middle School and Brentwood, Centennial and Franklin high schools also competed and placed in the individual competitions.

      This year's virtual tournament included 20 teams in the middle school division and 26 teams in the high school division. Students competed in any of the 18 events, and the top six finishers in each category received a medal. The six overall winners in each division received a trophy, and the first place teams will move on to the national competition in May.

      Congratulations to the students who were recognized in the individual competitions:

    Division B - Middle School

    • Anatomy and Physiology

      • Fifth: Nila Kondee and Isabel Pielich, Brentwood Middle

      Botany

      • First: Aditya Pradeep and Vedant Misra, Woodland Middle

      Circuit Lab

      • Third: Rohan Kilaru and Srikar Kusumanchi, Woodland Middle

      Codebusters

      • First: Jacob Dong and Katherine Perez, Brentwood Middle

      Crime Busters

      • Third: Nila Kondee and Cade McConnell, Brentwood Middle

      Density Lab

      • Fourth: Maria Chaklasi and Isabel Pielich, Brentwood Middle
      • Sixth: Dhruv Upadhye and Manu Kalasikam, Sunset Middle

      Dynamic Planet

      • Second: Collin Youngberg and Isabella Aulino, Brentwood Middle

      Disease Detectives

      • Third: Ajay Balaje and Deepak Balamurugan, Sunset Middle
      • Sixth: Brayden Zhang and Kaushik Sathiyandrakumar, Woodland Middle

      Food Science

      • Fifth: Abhisri Signh and Muskaan Maheshwari, Woodland Middle
      • Sixth: Thilo Coughlin and TJ Gardocki, Brentwood Middle

      Fossils

      • Fourth: Everett Baurle and Kanishk Pasupoleti, Sunset Middle

      Heredity

      • Third: Katherine Perez and Cole Hawkins, Brentwood Middle

      Ornithology

      • Third: Aditya Shreekanth and Vedant Misra, Woodland Middle

      Reach for the Stars

      • Second: Daniel Guo and Cade McConnell, Brentwood Middle

      Road Scholar

      • Fourth: Jacob Dong and Collin Youngberg, Brentwood Middle

      Water Quality

      • Second: Srikar Kusumanchi and Anirudh Kodukula, Woodland Middle
      • Third: Thilo Coughlin and Daniel Guo, Brentwood Middle

       

    Division C - High School

    • Astronomy

      • Fourth: Eli Bullock-Papa and Rajveer Chaudhury, Ravenwood High

      Botany

      • First: Eli Bullock-Papa and Sophia Wang, Ravenwood High
      • Sixth: Matthew Link, Brentwood High

      Chemistry Lab

      • First: Ammar Farra and Ryan Jordan, Ravenwood High
      • Second: Jackson Cooke and Lilian Scales, Centennial High

      Circuit Lab

      • Fifth: Matthew Mueller and Aaron Wu, Ravenwood High

      Codebusters

      • Fifth: Jacob Myers, Eileen Hsu and Leah Whitfield, Franklin High
      • Sixth: Patrick Baugh, Sofia Torre and Jesse Cai, Brentwood High

      Designer Genes

      • Fifth: Tyler Myers and Matthew Link, Brentwood High
      • Sixth: Saniya Gupta and Hannah Kim, Centennial High

      Disease Detectives

      • Fourth: Kanksha Joshi and Harshitha Marepally, Ravenwood High

      Dynamic Planet

      • Second: Eli Bullock-Papa and Kevin Joseph, Ravenwood High
      • Sixth: Sofia Torre and Jesse Cai, Brentwood High

      Environmental Chemistry

      • Second: Sharada Ghantasala and Kevin Joseph, Ravenwood High
      • Sixth: Max Aulino and Carissa Shuxteau, Brentwood High

      Forensics

      • Second: Jacob Myers and Eileen Hsu, Franklin High

      Fossils

      • Second: Tyler Myers and Dhuhaa Fazzili, Brentwood High

      Geological Mapping

      • First: Sophie McAtee and Aaron Wu, Ravenwood High
      • Fourth: Sofia Torre and Duhaa Fazzili, Brentwood High

      Machines

      • Second: Kevin Joseph and Aaron Wu, Ravenwood High
      • Third: Eric Sang and Jessie Yang, Brentwood High

      Ornithology

      • Third: Sophia Wang and Cynthia Xu, Ravenwood High
      • Fourth: Hannah Kim and Saniya Gupta, Centennial High
      • Fifth: Lillian Shi and Lisa Messier, Franklin High

      Water Quality

      • Second: Sharada Ghantasala and Frank Moser, Ravenwood High
      • Sixth: Yaren Dogan and Matthew Link, Brentwood High