Thirty McClintock students competed in the annual Science Olympiad on Sat., Mar. 7 and placed seventh as a team.

Science Olympiad is a competition composed of 25 different events that cover a variety of different scientific subjects, including everything from labs and building competitions to tests about particular topics. Students have the opportunity to participate in one or more categories of personal interest.

“I compete because it gives me a chance to test my knowledge in a variety of different things,” senior Kendric Knorr said. “It gives me experience in working with those kinds of concepts.”

Students chose events and topics that they wanted to compete in, and then studied for months to prepare for the competition.

“I did more preparation for previous competitions than for this one because I felt like I needed to, but now I know what the competition entails,” Knorr said.

McClintock sent two teams of 15 people each to Science Olympiad. About 40 teams competed, and the top 7 teams in each event and top 7 teams overall won awards.

“Some people prepare all year, and some try to do it at the last minute,” Science Olympiad advisor Ivan Barkdoll said.“It’s easy to tell – it doesn’t take much preparation to place in the top 10 of your event.”

Science Olympiad’s topics range from astronomy to cell biology, with many topics in between. Students are not required to participate in every topic; instead, they pick one or a few that interest them.

“[Science Olympiad] helps students with their interest in science,” junior Amrita Rhoads said. “The competition has a lot of topics that aren’t offered as classes at McClintock.”

Students are encouraged to attend meetings whenever they’re able so they can compete in next year’s competition.

“We always need more members,” Barkdoll said. “You don’t have to know anything at all to join and be successful at your event. We have the supplies and people to work with new members.” To see individual results, go to www.mhscharger.com.