Polk County High School's varsity and junior varsity Science Olympiad teams pose Saturday with their trophies and medals.

Polk County middle, high school students fare well at regional Science Olympiad

March 1, 2015

Polk County middle and high school students hauled home plenty of medals Saturday from the North Carolina Science Olympiad regional tournament in Asheville.

Both Polk County Middle School and Polk County High School earned berths in the state Science Olympiad tournament, each placing among the top four schools at the annual competition held at UNC Asheville. Science Olympiad offers students a chance to compete in 23 team events, some involving subject tests, some involving building devices, some involving both.

In North Carolina, more than 500 schools and 12,000 students take part in Science Olympiad competition each year, beginning with regional tournaments from which qualifiers advance to the state tourney, held in April at North Carolina State University.

The defending Division B champion, Polk County Middle School finished tied for first this year with Evergreen Community Charter, each team scoring 83 points, but Evergreen won a tiebreaker with five gold medals to Polk Middle’s four. Fairview Middle placed third with 86 points. Polk Middle had the most top-three finishes in the division with 15 and placed in the top two in 14 of the 23 events.

In Division B junior varsity, Polk County Middle repeated as regional champions, scoring 62 points to top Evergreen by three points. Seven teams competed in the Division B junior varsity competition.

In Division C, Polk County High School placed fourth with 140 points, narrowly behind second-place T.C. Roberson with 128 and McDowell with 129. Asheville High dominated the competition, placing in the top three in 18 of the 23 events to win with 61 points. Polk County Early College placed 12th.

The Polk High junior varsity scored 56 points, placing in the top three in 19 of the 23 events, to defeat McDowell by 10 points in the Division C JV competition, which featured five teams.

TEAM SCORES
High School Varsity
1. Asheville 61; 2. T.C. Roberson 128; 3. McDowell 129; 4. Polk County High 140; 5. Henderson County Early College 164; 6. Carolina Day 176; 7. Owen 194; 8. North Buncombe 205; 9. A.C. Reynolds 218; 10. West Henderson 218; 11. Robbinsville 231; 12. Polk County Early College 262; 13. East Henderson 299; 14. Smoky Mountain 309; 15. Tuscola 312.

High School Junior Varsity
1. Polk County High 56; 2. McDowell 66; 3. Henderson County Early College 81; 4. Asheville 107.

Middle School Varsity
1. Evergreen Community Charter 83; 2. Polk County Middle 83; 3. Fairview 86; 4. East McDowell Middle 127; 5. Thomas Jefferson Classical 138; 6. Flat Rock Middle 147; 7. Avery Middle 156; 8. A.C. Reynolds Middle 171; 9. Erwin Middle 191; 10. Rugby Middle 194; 11. Bethel Middle 225; 12. Owen Middle 268; 13. Waynesville Middle 270.
NOTE: Evergreen wins tiebreaker on most gold medals won, 5-4.

Middle School Junior Varsity
1. Polk County Middle 62; 2. Evergreen Community Charter 65; 3. Fairview JV 1 82; 4. Flat Rock Middle 126; 5. East McDowell Middle 143; 6. Rugby Middle 146; 7. Fairview JV 2 163.

MEDALS
Polk County schools only
High School Varsity
GOLD: Polk County High – Write It Do It
SILVER: Polk County High – Cell Biology, Compound Machines, It Matters!, Mission Possible, Wright Stuff
BRONZE: Polk County High – Egg-O-Naut, GeoLogic Mapping, Scrambler; Polk County Early College – Mission Possible

High School Junior Varsity
GOLD: Polk County High – Anatomy & Physiology, Astronomy, Bridge, Disease Detectives, Duct Tape Challenge, Dynamic Planets, Green Generation, It Matters!, Scrambler
SILVER: Polk County High – Cell Biology, Egg-O-Naut, Entomology, Forensics, GeoLogic Mapping, Wright Stuff, Write It, Do It
BRONZE: Polk County High – Crave the Wave, Experimental Design, Fossils

Polk County Middle only
Middle School Varsity
GOLD: Bridge, Bottle Rocket, Duct Tape Challenge, Road Scholar
SILVER: Air Trajectory, Bio-Process Lab, Crave the Wave, Dynamic Planet, Elastic Launched Glider, Green Generation, It Matters!, Meteorology, Picture This, Solar System
BRONZE: Entomology

Middle School Junior Varsity
GOLD: Air Trajectory, Bridge, Fossils, Road Scholar
SILVER: Disease Detectives, Duct Tape Challenge, Dynamic Planet, Experimental Design, It Matters!, Solar System
BRONZE: Bio-Process Lab, Crave the Wave, Crimebusters, Elastic Launched Glider, Meteorology, Simple Machines, Wheeled Vehicle