Thomas County Central High School students had great success at the region Science Olympiad competition this past weekend.

Students brought home several medals, ribbons, and a second place overall trophy from the Gordon State College Region Science Olympiad tournament held Feb. 27, ensuring them a spot at state competition. Among the two teams, both coached by TCCHS science teacher Laura Kornegay, every student placed or won a ribbon in at least one event.

“Out of the 23 categories given, our school did well in each one,” junior participant Palmer NeSmith said.

Several students spent months in competition preparation, constructing everything from a robot to a bridge to a glider; other students studied for tests and prepared for labs to assess upon arrival.

NeSmith describes Science Olympiad as a “science competition that tests your mind and all work put into the project you’re there to do.”

“Being surrounded by others who studied and worked on the same categories as I was in was a great experience that I wouldn’t take for granted,” she said.

For many students, like junior Logan Herring, this was their first time competing in the competition.

“Science Olympiad was an overall great experience,” Herring said. “It was my first time going and I was excited to do well in my Green Generation event, along with my partner, Eli Kosciw.”

For others, like junior Steven Tran, this wasn’t their first time stepping into the lab. Tran competed in four events this year: Air Trajectory, Robot Arm, Wright Stuff, and Experimental Design.

“I did pretty well for my second year,” he said. “It felt rewarding to place and advance with events that I’ve been working on since the beginning of the year.”

Science Olympiad state competition will be held April 16 at Emory University in Atlanta. Students say they are “looking forward” to the competition.

"We had tough competition at region, and we know what we need to do to be competitive at the state level,” Coach Laura Kornegay said. “I am proud of how well the students did – I’ve never had this many medal winners at a region event before!"

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TCCHS SCIENCE OLYMPIAD WINNERS

TCCHS TEAM #1

First Place Medals

Air Trajectory — C’lee Kornegay & Steven Tran

Electric Vehicle — C’lee Kornegay & Hailey Ferrel

Invasive Species — Jordan Bush & Eli Kosciw

Second Place Medals

Chemistry Lab — Hannah Dixon & Chandler Watson

Game On — Jacob Hancock & Guanghui Li

Green Generation — Eli Kosciw & Logan Herring

It’s About Time — Eli Kosciw & Li Guanghui

Robot Arm — Steven Tran & C’lee Kornegay

Wright Stuff — Steven Tran

Third Place Medals

Dynamic Planet — Randi Dupree & Maggie Martin

Hydrogeology — Eli Kosciw & Jordan Bush

Fourth Place Medals

Protein Modeling —Randi Dupree & Luvy Miranda

Ribbons

Anatomy & Physiology — Jordan Bush & Guanghui Li

Astronomy — Chandler Watson & Hailey Ferrel

Bridge Building — C’lee Kornegay & Hailey Ferrel

Cell Biology — Chandler Watson & Hannah Dixon

Disease Detectives — Maggie Martin & Jacob Hancock

Experimental Design — C’lee Kornegay, Steven Tran & Hailey Ferrel

Forensics — Maggie Martin & Hailey Ferrel

Fossils — Logan Herring & Maggie Martin

Geologic Mapping — Chandler Watson

Wind Power — Jacob Hancock & Luvy Miranda

Write It/Do It — Randi Dupree & Luvy Miranda

TCCHS TEAM #2

Fourth Place Medal

Write It/Do It — Ethan Hopper & Palmer NeSmith

Ribbons

Air Trajectory — Ethan Hopper & Palmer NeSmith

Bridge Building — Ethan Hopper & Palmer NeSmith

Chemistry Lab — Austin Kelley

Electric Vehicle — Ethan Hopper & Palmer NeSmith

Forensics — Austin Kelley & Tyler Williamson

Green Generation — Anna Jense & Tyler Williamson

Hydrogeology — Austin Kelley & Anna Jense

Invasive Species — Kacy Jones & Anna Jense

Wright Stuff — Tyler Williamson & Anna Jense