The Munster High School Science Olympiad team won its third straight Indiana state championship on Saturday, March 21, outdueling 29 other Indiana teams at the tournament held on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The team took a total of 13 gold medals in 28 total events, and set a record for best point total, 61, with low score being better.
For events contributing to the 61 point total, the team was in the top five for all but three of them. The other three events still finished in the top ten. This all adds up to an incredible all-around performance – there were no weak events.
The team has earned the right to advance and compete in the 2015 national tournament to be held on May 15-16 on the campus of the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. At that tournament, MHS will be one of the sixty best teams from around the country. The team is very excited to have a chance to reach for the program goal of earning a top ten finish and trophy at the national level.
Team members:
Bala Chockalingam, Andy Chen, Kyle Lee, Garrett Zuck, Brian Araya, Harsh Jhaveri, Tony Zmuda, Alex Kirr, Daniel Soeka, Matt Kvasnica, Nirav Patwari, Adam Richter, Kevin Fuhs, Pepper Muangmingsuk, Cayla Bales, Hayley Kwasniewski, Taylor Merkel, Kimberly Wang, Julie Chael, Rachel Kalbfell, Emma Hand, Erin Harvath and Mackinzie Farnell. The team is coached by MHS science teachers, Keith Koszut and Patrick O’Neill.
