The Clague Science Olympiad team will be competing in the Science Olympiad National Tournament on May 19 and 20 at Wichita State University in Kansas. 

The following 17 team members are traveling to Wichita, KS with the Scioly board members, coaches and parent volunteers to compete in the tournament:

Sounak Debnath – eighth grade
Angad Pal – eighth grade
Rajonya Dey – eighth grade
Anika Raman  – eighth grade
Thisali Bandaranayake  – eighth grade
Lakshya Jaiganesh – eighth grade
Victor Tarca – eighth grade
Michelle Zhang – eighth grade
Srishti Jadhav – eighth grade
Jhanvi Giddu – eighth grade
Paavani Tewari – eighth grade

Kanishka Gupta – seventh grade

Sahan Ihalaranaweera – seventh grade
Jerry Zuo (Alternate) – seventh grade

Claire Svoboda  – sixth grade

Aarav Tirumali – sixth grade 

Edwin Liang (Alternate) – sixth grade

“A 15 member primary team will compete in 23 event categories spanning several scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, earth science and environmental science,” Head Coach Kapil Gupta said. “These events include lab-based events, where students conduct experiments or analyze data, as well as study-based events, where students are tested on their knowledge of scientific concepts and facts. The competition also includes events that test students’ engineering and problem-solving skills. Two alternate team members will also be competing in a trial event called Solar Power.”

Every student commits to competing in 3-4 events, each event team usually has two students.

“Students attend parent volunteer-led coaching sessions 1-2 hours per week for each event that they compete in,” Coach Gupta said. “ Additionally they spend an equal amount of time outside of the coaching sessions working with their peers on past tests and self-study.” 

On the road the National competition, the Clague Scioly Team had many successes.   

“The team placed first place in the regional competition held at the University of Michigan on March 18 2023 to qualify for the State competition. The team then went on to secure second place in the State competition held at the Michigan State University campus on April 22 to qualify for the national competition to be held at the Wichita State University on May 19-20.