The Manchester Science Olympiad teams triumphed in their regional tournament, winning first place in both the middle school and high school divisions for the first time in the school’s history. Coached by science teacher Sue Gnagy, the team competed on February 11 at Goshen College. High school team member Adam Hanback commented, “We went into the day with high hopes, but not expecting much. We came out, however, with two awesome 1st place trophies.” “Everyone, including coaches, parents, and team members, contributed to victory. We need to say a big Thank You to Sue Gnagy, our coach, for putting in extra hours to building our team and helping us study,” added Karly Eichenauer, middle school team member.
Science Olympiad is an academic tournament with 23 events in each division pertaining to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Both of Manchester’s teams medaled in all 23 events: eight first place medals for the middle school and 12 first place medals for the high school. According to Coach Gnagy, “We upset a team that had won the Goshen Regional 12 years in a row and has competed at nationals the last two years. There was only one point separating first and second place in the B division. That just goes to show how important it is for every team member to give his/her best effort in every event he/she is in. It is my privilege to work with such an outstanding group of students and parents. I appreciate the hard work of our volunteer coaches Mike Hanback, Tony Miller, Mark Hicks and Ryan Evans. I also want to thank my administration and all the parents who support this program in so many ways.”
Article written by Tara Gnagy
B team consist of: Jonah Shenefield, Lindsay Rice, Beatrice Snavely, Zach Shenefield, Karly Eichenauer, Claire Barnett, Nate Hunter, Coach Sue Gnagy, Devin Good, Nate Baker, Matthew Pegg, Ethan Rice, David Fahs-Brown, Levi Hicks and Rainer Borgmann
C team Members: Hannah Lochner, Aisha Harris, Calvin Barnett, Erica McKinley, Amy Ihnen, Adam Hanback, Blayk Giddens, Coach Sue Gnagy, Bradley Miller, Ashton Bolinger, Bekah Rich, Tom Naragon, Ross Messer, Ben Godoy-Forrester