Shelby Science Olympians advance to state finals

Shelby Science Olympians advance to state finals

Tiger squad finishes fourth overall at regionals

Tiger Pride is a presentation of Shelby Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.

MOUNT PLEASANT — Two individual teams on the Shelby High School Science Olympiad Team took first place at regionals Saturday, March 18, qualifying for state competition.

Gaining first place for Shelby were Emma Soelberg and Tanner Soelberg in the trajectory challenge and Micah Frye and Tanner Soelberg in the WiFi lab.

The Science Olympiad squad finished fourth as a team in Region 3, narrowly missing a state tournament berth. The Tigers competed in 23 different events at Mid Michigan College.

“Individually, the Tigers had many medal winners and had two teams place first in their events — qualifying them to go as event winners to the state tournament,” said Coach Pete Peterson.

Other top finishers include:

Second place medal winners: Josephine Kirker and Claire Gowell — Flight, and Kiera Ransom and Mary Bisard — Write It/Do It.

Third place: Josephine Kirker and Garrett Birkhofer — It’s About Time; Abel Sill and Emma Soelberg — Detector Building; Garrett Birkhofer and Tanner Soelberg — Fermi Question; Elizabeth Flores Gonzales and Hailey Jones — Dynamic Planet; Claire Gowell, Kiera Ransom and Mary Bisard — Experimental Design; Kiera Ransom and Mary Bisard — Bridge

“This year’s team was one of my most enjoyable groups to coach,” said Coach Peterson. “They came in and worked hard to prepare for their events and presented novel solutions to problems we encountered in our building events. Overall, a gratifying experience.

The Shelby Science Olympiad Team would like to thank the parents, superintendent Mark Olmstead, principal Zach Christian, the Shelby Board of Education, assistant coach Paul Schamber, science teachers Phil Fortier and Chandler Monton, technology coordinators Jordan Redding and Lisa Felt, Ted at the Computer Refinery in New Era and “our Shelby family” for all the support and encouragement, said Peterson.

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