On Saturday, March 23, 23 students from Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School in Birmingham competed, or were alternates, in the Science Olympiad State Tournament held at Auburn University. Out of the twelve teams that qualified to compete at the state competition, Our Lady of the Valley Catholic School (OLV) finished in 2nd place.

The competition included a total of 23 events that focused on different areas of science. OLV's team placed first in “Crime Busters, Optics, and Road Scholar,” second in “Experimental Design, Wheeled Vehicle,” third in “Air Trajectory, Anatomy & Physiology, Can't Judge a Powder, Forestry, Microbe Mission, Reach for the Stars, Towers,” fourth in “Disease Detectives, Fast Facts, Flight,” and fifth and seventh in several other events.

Competing for Our Lady of the Valley’s team were Kieran Ford, Kyle Heberlein, Jonathan Rohling, Owen Maloney, Lilly Nguyen, Lanie Norman, Blake Anderson, Charlotte Chamberlain, Juliana Rohling, Anja Sundstrom, Isabella Brand, Hannah Ceasar, Alexa DeSantis, Khloe Hess, and Carla Nedoma. 

This second-place finish at the state competition backs up the results of the earlier regional competition where OLV’s two teams finished in first and second place. It was a tremendously successful season under the leadership of teachers Ann Stevens, Lorrie Steele, and Gina Hagelskamp.

A special thanks to those parents, grandparents, and alumni that mentored events for the team this year, including Bruce Fogel, Brad Chamberlain, Liz Sundstrom, and Nathaniel Rohling.