On Saturday, February 27th, Chapin High School’s Science Olympiad team traveled to Newbery High School to compete in a series of science-related events. Chapin finished 6th out of 19 schools.

The 15 person team was lead by captain Adam Abduhrahman and co-captain Hannah Stewart. Team members included Clay Bellinger, Luke Lackovic, Joseph Humphries, Trey Haselden, Valerie Smith, Adam Schiferl, Mason Burris, Paige Borky, John Coleman Ward, David Abduhrahman, and Brandon Donato. Two teachers, Dr. Laurie Taylor and Mr. Robert Schiferl, accompanied them.

The 15 team members each participated in different events which included forensics, science pictionary, experimental design, and different building activities.

Valerie Smith and Trey Haselden took 4th place in experimental design. They participated in marble dropping and car modeling experiments, among others.

“I really enjoyed Science Olympiad because I got to become better friends with people I only knew from a distance seeing them in the halls,” said Trey Haselden, a junior at Chapin High School.

Adam Abduhrahman and Hannah Stewart took first place in Forensics. The Forensics activities lasted one hour and included crime suspect, fingerprinting, DNA sampling, powder samples, and other chemistry based activities.

“It was very suspenseful,” remarked Abduhrahman, a junior at Chapin High School.

Adam Abduhrahman took 2nd place in “Picture This”, a science related science pictionary.

“It was very fun. It was based on science, and there was more drama since we could win,” said sophomore Clay Bellinger.

Luke Lacovic and Joseph Humpries finished 3rd in Electric Vehicle. Adam Schiferl and Mason Burries finished 5th place in Bridge Building.

When asked what their favorite part of competing was, Abduhrahman replied “I had two favorites. Once we complete each event, we get to talk with our group before we get our score, which is really cool. I also like to hear names called out when we get scores, and its especially cool when we hear a Chapin name called out.”

“I liked competing in events that relate to the career path I want to go in,” added Clay Bellenger.

Chapin finished 6th overall, a feat many were proud of since it was their first time competing in the Science Olympiad.

“I am really proud Chapin did as well as we did. We beat Dutch Fork and we have a really young team with lots of freshmen. We have a lot of room for improvement and I am excited to see how much our team will grow,” said Abduhrahman.