Waynflete teams take first and second place at 2022 Maine State Science Olympiad

Thirty-two Upper School students participated in the Maine State Science Olympiad tournament on Saturday, April 9 at the University of Maine in Orono. The Waynflete Green team was captained by seniors Blythe Thompson and Henry Wagg. Our White team was captained by seniors Julia Werner and Deon Rivers.

Waynflete’s teams took first and second places overall in the state competition. Highlights included the six events in which the two teams took both gold and silver medallions: Forensics (Kate Bramley-Simmons ’22, Matt Adey ’23, Aelia Russell ’24, and Charlie Horner ’23), Wi-Fi Lab (Henry Wagg ’22, Maya Flores ’23, Cole Isherwood ’23, and Tipton Heminway ’24), Wright Stuff airplane (Maren Cooper ’23, Reed Robinson ’23, Vera Shattuck ’22, Aelia Russell ’24, and Deon Rivers ’22), Astronomy (Blythe Thompson ’22, Oscar Herrera ’22, Vera Shattuck ’22, and Deon Rivers ’22), It’s About Time clock and test (Maya Flores ’23, Oscar Twining ’23, Liam Anderson ’23, and Charlie Horner ’23) and Environmental Chemistry (Orion Keierleber ’23, Maren Cooper ’23, Lolie Millspaugh ’22, and Julia Werner ’22).

Other engineering events did well too: Trajectory, 1st place (Nathan Bukowski-Thall ’22, Kate Bramley-Simmons ’22, and Ed Cox ’22), Gravity Vehicle, 2nd place (Henry Wagg ’22 and Nik Chaney ’24), Ping Pong Bottle Rocket, 3rd (Cole Isherwood ’23 and Lincoln Smith ’23), and Bridge 2nd place (Blythe Thompson ’22 and Matt Adey ’23).

Resident ornithologist Reed Robinson ’23 and his partner Oscar Herrera ’22 earned gold for Ornithology, missing only the species identification for a recording of owl fledgling calls! Write It Do It, a test of students’ ability to communicate and interpret technical information, saw a first and third place finish for Waynflete (Mira Levine ’24, Oscar Herrera ’22, Lincoln Smith ’23, and Liam Anderson ’22). Other top finishes included Disease Detectives (Blythe and Ed for 1st place, and Cece Marshall ’22 and Lolie for third place); Chem Lab got 1st and 3rd place as well (Maren, Mira, Tipton and Jasper Curtis ’23); Experimental Design also came in 1st and 3rd (Vera, Deon, Aelia and Matt, Blythe, Oscar T.).