On Friday, January 17, the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Science Olympiad team left campus bright and early to compete in a wide range of academic categories at Union College of Union County in Cranford.
For the past several months, accepted members of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Science Olympiad team, comprising 14 attendees, had been studying for various categories offered by the New Jersey Science Olympiad organization. Despite several last-minute dropouts and competition rearrangements, the team persevered and put their best foot forward.
The Bridgewater-Raritan students who participated in the regionals undertook a total of eight competition categories, out of a total of 13. Shaurya Jain competed in Air Trajectory, Vikrant Khanvilkar and Shaurya Jain in Astronomy, Dhitika Madduri and Kashviya Somangali for Bungee Drop, Anshuman Roy and Ronit Naik for Disease Detectives, Nandini Kuppachi and Shreya Gupta for Dynamic Planet, Rhea Punathil and Aarush Shah for Microbe Mission, Angie Yang and Suphachikaa Chinnasamy in Optics and Dhruv Rakhade and Nandini Kuppachi for Write It Do It.
While the entire team performed across the board in their respective categories, and all pairs got placements, the team got 19th place overall. Some significant individual placements include Anshuman Roy and Ronit Naik placing 3rd in Disease Detectives and Vikrant Khanvilkar and Shaurya Jain placing 4th in Astronomy. While the team was not able to advance to states due to not placing high enough overall, such high individual placements ensure promise for the future of the club.
Junior Nandini Kuppachi, the club’s treasurer who helped coordinate the event, shared her take on how the event went, especially compared to last year’s performance.
“The event went smoothly overall, and we were able to incorporate several new ideas that made it feel fresh and exciting. Compared to last year’s performance, I think we did a much better job of staying organized and engaging everyone. I’m really proud of how the team came together to make it a success,” she said.
Kashviya Somangali, a junior and member who competed in Bungee Drop, and participated in the Science Olympiad for the first time, shared her thoughts on the competition.
“Competing in the Bungee Drop for the first time was a thrilling experience, and I learned a lot in the process. It was great to see how everyone worked together to solve problems, and I can’t wait to be a part of the Science Olympiad again next year. Even though it was my first time, the sense of teamwork and problem-solving was truly inspiring,” she said.
