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Brookwood High School wins Science Olympiad State Tournament for Sixth Year in a Row

Brookwood High School has qualified for the Science Olympiad National Tournament after winning the Science Olympiad State Tournament for the sixth year in a row. The Science Olympiad National Tournament is the pinnacle of achievement for 120 of the country’s best Science Olympiad teams, comprised of more than 2,000 students.

In February and March, 148 Georgia high school teams competed in regional tournaments in hopes of securing one of 24 slots in the State Science Olympiad, which was held at Emory University. It was against that highly qualified field of 24 competitors that Brookwood High School put up its strongest state performance ever. The school finished in the top six places in 22 out of the 23 events. The Brookwood team won a total of 18 medals, with each team member earning at least one medal.

EVENT BROOKWOOD STUDENT WINNERS
Anatomy and Physiology 1st Anh-Tu Mai, Hassaan Asif
Astronomy 1st Heath Murphy, Abby Hinkleman
Bridge Building 1st  Nam Kim, Michelle Kung
Invasive Species 1st  Grace Kim, Angelina Suwoto
Protein Modeling 1st Emma DeJarnette, Stephan George, Hassaan Asif
Wind Power 1st Arjuna Karikaran, Tony Zeng
Chem Lab 2nd Hassaan Asif, Nam Kim
Disease Detectives 2nd Emma DeJarnette, Grace Kim
Forensics 2nd Amaan Marfatia, Michelle Kung
Geologic Mapping 2nd  Abby Hinkleman, Heath Murphy
Cell Biology 3rd Emma DeJarnette, Stephan George
Dynamic Planet  3rd Anh-Tu Mai, Arjuna Karikaran
Electric Vehicle 3rd Anh-Tu Mai, Nam Kim
Fossils 3rd Cat Rose, Heath Murphy
Wright Stuff 3rd Amaan Marfatia, Stephan George
Air Trajectory 4th Louis Kim, Hassaan Asif
Hydrogeology 4th Heath Murphy, Angelina Suwoto
Game On 4th Amaan Marfatia, Angelina Suwoto

Brookwood High School’s  Science Olympiad Team is coached by Martha Brick, Stephen Beall, John Chvatal, Joe Cox, Jorge Diaz, Bonnie Kirby, Dan Miller, Anna Schneider, Carrie Settles Livers, Debbie Steiner, Natalie Taylor-Shaw, and Cat Trouteaud.

By winning a state championship and collecting 6 gold medals (1st place in over 25% of the events) this year’s team is the first to meet a challenge that has been in place for 9 years. As a reward, the team was allowed to shave Coach Joe Cox’s head.

“It was definitely an interesting experience having 15 brilliant teenagers with zero skill as hair stylists shave my head. They ended up doing a great job given what they had to work with, but then again I expected no less,” Cox said. “I’ve had the privilege of coaching some great students, but this year’s group is extra special. Their performance at the state tournament was the best ever recorded at Brookwood. The ability to keep winning year after year speaks to the dedication of our students and Science Olympiad coaches, but it also speaks to the overall quality and rigor of our STEM program.”

Brookwood High School has now won eight state championships in the last nine years and will be one of only two teams to represent Georgia at the National Science Olympiad at the University of Wisconsin, Stout on May 20-21, 2016.