LM Science Olympiad has begun the year strong, attending their first of five invitationals of the 2023-24 school year on November 17 and 18 at Cornell University. They brought in a record high number of competing team members, LM entered 45 competitors (the equivalent to three full teams) and four alternates. At the competitive invitational, their three teams placed 14th, 15th, and 21st overall out of sixty. 

Success is not new to this competitive team. Last year, they achieved second place at states in a close finish and advanced to nationals. Team captain Anwen Underwood ’24 shared that nationals was a “wonderful trip to Wichita, Kansas (very scenic), and [the team] placed 14th overall out of 60 highly competitive teams!” Individuals on the team also received many awards, bringing home three medals, from [their] dedicated captain Sasha Murray ’24, high achiever Alex Mazzeo ’26, as well as [their] “Trajectory lovers” Alan Chen’24 and Nathan Donagi ’24. While the competition season is only beginning, the team is “working towards another nationals qualifying year!”

Underwood shared that they “have an amazing team this year: a large number of strong seniors, dedicated juniors, and underclassmen, and…highly supportive coaches.” In this first invitational, at Cornell, the team placed slightly lower than they did last year, but with such a strong and dedicated team, they are hopeful for the rest of the season. Underwood commented, “Despite our stiff competition, we are working hard now, with three to five meetings every week and another competition coming up on the 16th, to crush our competition come spring.” 

In the spring, the team will be challenged with higher stakes, as they attempt to place among the top teams in order to advance from regionals, to states, and finally to nationals. Since their win last year was “by a very slim margin,” they hope to secure a definitive victory this year so that they can confidently “call [themselves] a nationally competitive team.” With these larger goals in mind, the team is first “focusing on excelling at [their invites]” such as their upcoming competition at Conestoga High School and their recent invite at Cornell University. 

Each invite consists of 23 events, where each team presents pairs or groups of three to compete in topics ranging from astronomy and biology to physics and engineering. The competitions are in the form of written tests, “build tests,” or labs, all held within a fifty minute time slot. LM had thirteen of their groups medal in their events. Among these were Chen and Luke Meyer ’24, who received first place in “Air Trajectory,” Seiji Sako ’26 and Ben Lee ’27  who received second place in ‘Tower’, and Murray and Nathaniel Gao ’26, who received second in ‘Disease Detectives.’  Underwood explained that “LM Scioly prides [themselves on [their] strong community.” By mixing up a lot of partnerships at the Cornell invite, she noted that it was “cool to watch [members] get to know one another more.” This community has been built from both group dedication and a goal of competing at the highest national level, but also from a dedication to team building. With a commitment to everyone on the team and to competitions, the team will continue to work hard and strives towards another successful season. 

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