(Posted April 28, 2008)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Sewickley Academy and Bala Cynwyd Middle School finished first and second respectively in Division B of the 2008 Pennsylvania Science Olympiad State Finals held Friday, April 25, at Juniata College.

Harriton High School finished first, and Penncrest High School finished second in Division C of the 2007 Science Olympiad State Finals.

All four teams will advance to the National Science Olympiad Finals May 30-31 at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. The state competition brought more than 1,000 high school and middle school students from across the state to the Juniata campus Friday. The students competed in 46 total events -- some individual and some team -- and earned points.

Attendees were divided into two divisions -- Division B (grades 6-9) and Division C (grades 9-12). Teams attending the state finals at Juniata qualified by being among the top place-finishers at regional competitions. There were five regional competitions held in Pennsylvania in March and April.

The Science Olympiad State Finals highlighted the talents and skills of the top young scientific minds in Pennsylvania. Sewickley Academy Middle School took the top team prize in Division B followed by second-place winner Bala Cynwyd Middle School third-place winner Shadyside Academy Middle School, fourth-place winner Stroudsburg Middle School and fifth-place winner Strath Haven Middle School.

Harriton High School took the Division C title followed by second-place finisher Penncrest High School. The third-place winner was Conestoga High School; fourth place was taken by Lower Merion High School; and the fifth-place winner was Bayard Rustin High School.

The goals of the Science Olympiad, a non-profit organization, are to improve the quality of science education, increase student interest in science and recognize outstanding achievement in science education. The Science Olympiad involved, nationwide, more than 1 million elementary and secondary school students in classroom activities, workshops and tournaments.

For more information about the Science Olympiad, visit the Science Olympiad Web site, www.soinc.org.

A complete list of the top three finishers in each event will follow:

Science Olympiad Results:

B Division:
Amphibians and Reptiles
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Sewickley Academy
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Anatomy
1. Shady Side Academy Middle School
2. Sewickley Academy Middle School
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Balloon Launch Glider
1. Kutztown Area Middle School
2. Shadyside Academy Middle School
3. Sewickley Academy Middle School

Bio-Process Lab
1. Welsh Valley Middle School
2. Sewickley Academy Middle School
3. Shadyside Academy Middle School

Crave the Wave
1. Exeter Township Middle School
2. Stroudsburg Junior High School
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Disease Detectives
1. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
2. Sewickley Academy Middle School
3. Unami Middle School

Ecology
1. Welsh Valley Middle School
2. Unami Middle Schooll
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Food Science
1. Franklin Regional Middle School
2. Sewickley Academy Middle School
3. East York Middle School

Meteorology
1. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
2. Sewickley Academy Middle School
3. Peters Township Middle School

Metric Mastery
1. Hershey Middle School
2. Unami Middle School
3. Sewickley Academy Middle School

Mystery Architecture
1. Sewickley Academy Middle School
2. Unami Middle School
3. Kutztown Area Middle School

Oceanography
1. Sewickley Academy Middle School
2. Fleetwood Middle School
3. Stroudsburg Junior High School

Reach for the Stars
1. Exeter Township Junior High School
2. Unami Middle School
3. J.T. Lambert Intermediate School

Road Scholar
1. Sewickley Academy Middle School
2. Shadyside Academy Middle School
3. Strath Haven Middle School

Robo-Cross
1. Sewickley Academy Middle School
2. Whitehall-Coplay Middle School
3. Shadyside Academy Middle School

Rocks and Minerals
1. Sewickley Academy Middle School
2. Fleetwood Middle School
3. Park Forest Middle School


Science Crime Busters
1. Stroudsburg Junior High School
2. Shadyside Academy Middle School
3. Sewickley Academy Middle School

Science Word
1. Shadyside Academy Middle School
2. Dubois Area Middle School
3. Sewickley Academy Middle School

Scrambler
1. Shadyside Academy Middle School
2. Kutztown Area Middle School
3. Sewickley Academy Middle School

Simple Machines
1. Wyoming Area Middle School
2. Hershey Middle School
3. Stroudsburg Junior High School


Tower Building
1. Sewickley Academy Middle School
2. Bala Cynwyd Middle School
3. Welsh Valley Middle School

Trajectory
1. Welsh Valley Middle School
2. Middletown Area Middle School
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School

Write It Do It
1. Stroudsburg Junior High School
2. Shadyside Academy Middle School
3. Bala Cynwyd Middle School



Division C

Astronomy
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Fleetwood Area High School

Boomilever
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Athens High School

Cell Biology
1. Penncrest High School
2. Bayard Rustin High School
3. Harriton High School

Chemistry Lab
1. Harriton High School
2. Bishop McDevitt High School
3. Peters Township High School

Circuit Lab
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. Conestoga High School

Disease Detectives
1. Hershey High School
2. Lower Merion High School
3. Conestoga High School

Ecology
1. Conestoga High School
2. Exeter Township High School
3. Lower Merion High School

Electric Vehicle
1. Harriton High School
2. Athens Area High School
3. Penncrest High School

Experimental Design
1. Susquehanna Township High School
2. State College Area School
3. Bayard Rustin High School

Fermi Questions
1. Penncrest High School
2. Bayard Rustin High School
3. Conestoga High School

Five-Star Science
1. Penncrest High School
2. Pittsburgh Allerdice High School
3. Lower Merion High School

Food Science
1. Harriton High School
2. Conestoga High School
3. Strath Haven High School

Forensics
1. Penncrest High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Conestoga High School

Health Science
1. Emmaus High School
2. Shadyside Academy High School
3. Hazleton Area High School

Herpetology
1. Harriton High School
2. Penncrest High School
3. State College Area High School

Oceanography
1. Conestoga High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Lower Merion High School

Physics Lab
1. Strath Haven High School
2. Fleetwood High School
3. Peters Township High School

Remote Sensing
1. Penncrest High School
2. Harriton High School
3. Lower Merion Senior High School

Robot Ramble
1. Penncrest High School
2. Athens High School
3. Harriton High School

Rocks and Minerals
1. Lower Merion High School
2. Shady Side Academy High School
3. Harriton High School

Sound of Music
1. Harriton High School
2. Emmaus High School
3. Penncrest High School

Wright Stuff
1. Athens Area High School
2. Kutztown Area High School
3. Allentown Central Catholic High School

Write It, Do It
1. Pittsburgh Allerdice High School
2. Fleetwood Area High School
3. Montour High School

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.