Building a Dynasty: Science Olympiad Team Eyes 2023 Competition

April 20, 2022 - Smart, young, and ambitious. That is how many are describing the Red Creek Science Olympiad Team. The group crushed the Midstate Regional Tournament back in January, securing 4th place overall. That finish earned them a spot in the New York State Finals. The team traveled to Lemoyne College in Syracuse for the Finals on March 18th and 19th.  

Red Creek did have one team come home with a medal. Seniors Angelie Sperling and Madelyn Clark finished 10th in the Rocks and Minerals event. Red Creek also finished in the top 30 in six other events. Overall, Red Creek placed 54th out of 60 teams at Finals. 

“This is the start of something very special,” said Carrie Griffith, the team’s head coach and high school science teacher. Comparably, Red Creek is a small school competing against some of the largest public and private schools in the state. 

Students had to take on several tasks ranging from written tests, to building bridges that needed to hold 15kg of sand, or a bit over 30 pounds. “The building events take a lot of trial and error to do these things,” said Sophomore Ethan Hanford, who won four medals at Regionals. “Like for the bridge, I had to build four bridges just to get the one I wanted… It takes a lot of patience.”  

Red Creek CSD has competed in the Science Olympiad for more than 25 years, taking home several trophies along the way. This year, the team ended a 12-year drought by getting back into the State tournament.   

“I think a new dynasty is starting” said Joe Bonanno, one of the team’s coaches. “Typically, teams have up to seven seniors, we have six sophomores and that’s just awesome.” Out of the 13 members on the team, four are seniors.

“This year was very important for our students when it comes to experience,” said Carrie. “Now it’s about taking what we learned and building upon it for next year.”