The Science Olympiad team participated in the state competition at The Ohio State University on Saturday, April 27 and placed 4th out of 40 teams, two places away from qualifying for Science Olympiad Nationals.

This was the best performance in Beachwood’s history.

“I am proud to represent Beachwood with its highest placement ever,” senior captain Vivian Myers said.

Myers is one of three co-captains along with senior Allen Yu and junior Henrik Burda. Adviser Rakhee Banerjee is in her first year coaching the high school team, but has been coaching the middle school team for years.

The team has been preparing for this competition all year, with meetings starting in the fall and practices occurring two or three times a week until the state competition. 

Competitors with study events took numerous practice tests; those with building events practiced by testing their builds and continuously trying to improve them.

“I have changed a few things around for the high school team this year, some of them being making practices consistent every week … to get the most meaningful results from every competition we participate in,” Rakhee said.

Beachwood has particularly excelled in study/binder events this year as they placed 1st in Forestry, 1st in Chemistry Lab and 3rd in Codebusters at the state competition. Myers and Anna Zhao competed in Forestry, Junbo Wang and Tony Zheng competed in Chemistry Lab and Anna Tonyushkin, Sophia Wang and Leo Wang competed in Codebusters. These accomplishments significantly aided Beachwood in placing fourth overall.

Earlier in the season Beachwood placed second out of 36 teams in the Kenston invitational on  Jan. 13 and second at the Baldwin Wallace regional competition on Feb. 24. 

The team credits their success to hard work and determination.

“There is always a shared dedication to our goals, and each person’s involvement contributes to our team’s success and spirit,” freshman So Eun Kang said.

When reflecting on this season, sophomore Ida Chang recalled the exhausting work she put in to prepare for states.

“Ultimately, our efforts definitely paid off, and states was a wonderful experience overall,” Chang said.

Sophomore Anna Tonyuskin was also proud of the team’s accomplishments this year.

“I’m so proud of our team for doing better this year and beating our previous school record, and I greatly enjoyed the weekend with some of my closest friends,” she said.

Although preparation and competition can be stressful, sophomore Lyndia Zheng recalled a fun moment she shared with her Science Olympiad teammates.

“A cute memorable moment for all of us was definitely making candy salad together while studying for our events,” she said. “With such a mentally draining activity as Science Olympiad, [it’s important to have] amazing friends whom I can rely on to help me stay motivated.” 

At the awards ceremony on the evening of April 27, the team members were elated that their efforts paid off.

“It was nerve wracking, but at the same time, every member of our team was not only proud of themselves, but proud of each other for the work that they have put in this year,” said Zheng.