Cape Henlopen Science Olympiad team earns second place at states

Cape Henlopen High School students delivered an impressive performance at the Delaware Science Olympiad State Competition, earning the second-place trophy among teams from across the state.

The competition, held at the John Dickinson School in Wilmington, brought together top student scientists and engineers to compete in one of the nation’s premier STEM academic competitions. Cape Henlopen fielded three teams of students who took part in 24 science and engineering events that tested their knowledge, creativity and problem-solving abilities. The strong overall finish highlighted months of preparation, teamwork and dedication by students who have been training since the beginning of the school year.

State tournament are part of the national Science Olympiad program, and they ranged from lab-based scientific investigations to hands-on engineering challenges. In addition to the second-place team, the Cape Henlopen Blue Team placed third overall, while the Cape Henlopen Yellow Team finished ninth.

Senior Quinton Eisenmann, club co-president, said the results reflected the dedication students put into preparing for the competition throughout the year. “Saturday's Science Olympiad competition was a great success for our team,” Eisenmann said. “As co-president, I was proud to see everyone’s hard work and preparation come together during the events. I’m grateful and proud of the number of hours people dedicated to our club. The team showed strong collaboration and determination throughout the competition, which led us to earn second place overall. In addition, several of our teammates received medals in their individual events, reflecting the depth of talent on our team. It was a rewarding experience and a great moment for everyone involved. Though I am graduating, I know the team has big aspirations of securing the gold next year, and I can’t wait to see it.”

Cape Henlopen students also earned numerous individual event medals. First-place finishes included Engineering CAD by Ava Lewis and William Dorsch, and Machines by Riley Stazzone and William Dorsch. Second-place medals were earned in Remote Sensing by William Dorsch and Quinton Eisenmann, and Robot Tour by Joshua Cohen and Ellie Sprague.

Third-place finishes included Circuit Lab (William Dorsch and Charles Umanzor), Helicopter (Nathaniel Hoang and Ellie Sprague), and Experimental Design (Joshua Cohen, Grace Eanes and Emily Flores-Rivas). Additional top placements included fourth place in Electric Vehicle (Joshua Cohen and Ellie Sprague) and Ping Pong Parachute (Charles Umanzor and Grace Eanes); fifth place in Forensics (Benjamin Carter and Gavin Carlisle) and Hovercraft (Ava Lewis and Quinton Eisenmann); and sixth place in Materials Science (Grace Eanes and Ava Lewis).

Members of the Cape Henlopen Yellow Team placed third in Engineering CAD (Shouta Sano and Theodore Noe Fellows), fourth in Disease Detectives (Delaney Huxtable and Autumn Moore), fifth in Rocks and Minerals (Tyler Haun and Autumn Moore), sixth in Hovercraft (Theodore Noe Fellows and Shouta Sano), and ninth in Remote Sensing (Sadie Wakefield and Theodore Noe Fellows). The Cape Henlopen White Team also earned a 10th-place finish, with Lucas Brianceau and Nevaeh Pope placing in Bungee Drop.

Cape students earned seventh place in Bungee Drop (Gavin Carlisle and Haldon Spriggs), Astronomy (Nathaniel Hoang and Ellie Sprague), and Entomology (Benjamin Carter and Haldon Spriggs); eighth place in Anatomy and Physiology (Nathaniel Hoang and Samantha Mayer); ninth place in Water Quality (Emily Flores-Rivas and Haldon Spriggs); and 10th place in Chemistry Lab (Joshua Cohen and Samantha Mayer) and Boomilever (Riley Stazzone and Aalyna Johnson).

Sophomore Ava Lewis said the experience was both educational and fun. “Saturday was super fun,” Lewis said. “Even when things go wrong, we can all have a good time laughing about our mistakes and learning for next time. My favorite part of this year has been getting to know my partners, who are people I may not have interacted with otherwise.”

Head coach Priscilla Coolbaugh said the team’s success was the result of months of preparation that began in the fall. “Students have been preparing for this event since September,” Coolbaugh said. “They participated in invitationals at UMBC and Princeton to prepare. There is nothing better than seeing hard work, grit, and determination be rewarded at the state competition.” Coolbaugh also emphasized that the program builds friendships and collaboration across teams. “One of the best things about Science Olympiad is that it brings people together to not be competitors, but be friends holding each other up, helping one another and cheering for each other,” she said. “The camaraderie across Cape’s three teams is a joy to witness.”

Coolbaugh also noted that strong community support helped make the team’s success possible. “It’s due to the support of our community, families and school that the students were able to make it this far at the state competition,” Coolbaugh said. “Through generous donations during fundraisers, we are able to purchase the materials students need to prepare for their events.”

The team also expressed gratitude to the Cape Henlopen Educational Foundation for supporting the program through grants that helped fund travel to invitational competitions and the state tournament.

With strong finishes across many events and a second-place overall trophy, the Cape Henlopen Science Olympiad team is already looking ahead to next year’s competition with hopes of bringing home the state championship.