Columbia High School’s Science Olympiad team placed 16th in the national championships this weekend at the University of Wisconsin Stout. The pair of Abby Radin and Yang Yang won a national championship in the Disease Detective event and Hailey Konisky and Haley D’Angelo won silver medals in the Write It, Do It event.
Recognized as one of the nation’s most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions, Science Olympiad brings together the top 60 high school teams advancing from state-level competitions to compete in 26 different events.
Rigorous hands-on and lab events led by experts from government agencies, top universities and Science Olympiad state chapters cover topics in physics, astronomy, chemistry, meteorology and engineering.
Columbia advanced to the national tournament for the third straight year by winning the 2016 state championship in March.
As a result of Radin and Yang’s gold medal in Disease Detective, which tested investigative skills in the study of disease, injury health and disabilities, they earned an all-expenses paid trip to visit the Center for Disease Control.
Columbia had eight top-10 finishes in the national championships.
Top 10 Finishes:
Disease Detective – 1st
Abby Radin and Yang Yang
Write It, Do It – 2nd
Hailey Konisky and Haley D’Angelo
Anatomy and Physiology – 8th
Sarina Xin and Allie Radin
Dynamic Planet – 7th
Matthew VanAuken and Abby Radin
Experimental Design – 7th
Hailey Konisky, William Grasso and Haley D’Angelo
Game On – 10th
Evan Iler, Parth Bhide and Neil Laya
Code Busters – 9th
Parth Bhide, Erin Broughel and Fritz Howard
Remote Sensing – 10th
Evan Iler and William Grasso
Top 15 Finishes:
Cell Biology – 12th
Danielle Allen and Sarina Xin
Forensics – 15th
Parth Bhide and Yang Yang
Top 20 Finishes:
Fossils – 19th
Avery Ball and Elizabeth Vlieg
Geologic Mapping – 17th
Parth Bhide and Katie Grifferty
Green Generation – 17th
Hailey Konisky and Haley D’Angelo
It’s About Time – 18th
Parth Bhide, Avery Ball and William Grasso