Five years ago, the Sunny Hills Science Olympiad team made history when it placed fourth at the Orange County regional competition — the best result since the club was first established in 2016.
But success turned into frustration and anger when the 15-member team learned it could not compete at all because the COVID-19 pandemic had forced the Southern California State Science Olympiad to cancel its annual event.
Two years later in 2022, the team — comprised of all new members — made history again when it placed sixth in regionals to advance and participate at the state level. But the difference was the contests were held virtually, so the group of 15 ended up working on their challenges from science classrooms on campus.
It took another three years before another whole new group of Science Olympiad students to add to the lore of the program.
After placing sixth on Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Orange County Regionals competition held at the University of California, Irvine, the 15-member team will now prepare to compete at the California Institute of Technology — in person, for the first time.
“It was a shock for the entire team because no one expected it, especially with our bad rankings in past competitions this year,” science teacher and Science Olympiad adviser Alexander Hua said. “I’m happy for the team members, and I can’t wait to see how they’ll do at states.”
For many, the afternoon awards ceremony, which announces six high schools to advance to the state level, became a tense moment.
“My friend next to me was saying how we might actually make it because we medaled a lot, but I told him to stop getting his hopes up because it sounded impossible at the moment,” sophomore Kevin Luo said. “It was honestly a surprise to all of us, and I remember being overcome with so much joy.”
Of the 23 events in the Science Olympiad, the team medaled in nine, ranging from first to sixth place:
- Bungee Drop: fourth place
- Chemistry Lab: fourth place
- Codebusters: first place
- Disease Detectives: sixth place
- Experimental Design: third place
- Fossils: sixth place
- Microbe Mission: fourth place
- Tower: third place
- Write It Do It: first place
For Codebusters, a three-member team had to decipher different codes in 50 minutes.
“Placing first in their event is every Science Olympiad member’s goal,” said freshman Dylan Wang, who took home a first-place gold medal alongside sophomore Ashley Kim and junior Chloe Aeum in Codebusters. “For months, I’ve practiced every week for hours, so seeing I contributed to giving Sunny Hills a first place win was amazing.”
Aeum said that she and her members met up after school on various days to practice for the competition, often parting late at night.
“It’s part of what being in Science Olympiad means,” she said. “It’s hard work and commitment.”
Despite its dedication and rigorous practice, the team also had to adapt to several changes in the past year, co-captain senior Joshua Yun said.
“Last year, we had two teams: Team A and Team B, in which the goal for Team B members was for them to gain the experience to advance to Team A,” Yun said. “This year, we opted to have just one — [which makes it] more competitive — group of students represent us at regionals.”
To qualify for the selective team, students were tested in various Science Olympiad topics. The top scorers were chosen to represent Sunny Hills at the regionals competition, Yun said.
Following this change, the remaining members of Science Olympiad then prepared for their tournaments, said co-captain senior Sophika Kiker, whose older brother helped lead his Olympiad group to the virtual state competition three years ago.
“Team practice was a crucial part of our win,” Kiker said. “It also allowed us to bond with each other and really build up that chemistry that was essential to our success.”
The team and adviser are looking forward to a challenging yet exciting competition at the state level, where they hope to showcase their hard work and dedication, Hua said.
“It’s definitely going to be a new experience for everyone,” he said. “The team actually hadn’t prepared for states, so we’re doing that now — everyone’s really hyped and anticipating what’s to come.”
Currently, all team members are participating in weekly practices in the teacher’s classroom after school, said Yun, whose goal is for his team to finish in the top six to earn a trophy. They also plan on continuing to meet outside of school to hone their skills.
“I’m so excited for the team to compete at CalTech, especially since we all worked for hours after school to study,” he said. “Our students have been especially hard working this year and now they can see it pay off.”
