Lemont High School Advances to Science and Engineering Challenge State Finals

For the fifth time in eight years, Lemont High School is headed to the Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge State Finals. Lemont posted a runner-up finish in its division at the North Central College Sectional on March 20. The 2014 WYSE State Finals will be held on Wednesday, April 9, on the campus of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Led by science teacher Tim Leffler, the team finished with a composite score of 386.3 points in its Division 1500 Sectional (enrollments of 701-1500 students), second only to Fenwick High School.’s 451.0 points. Several students earned top-five honors in their respective events.Lemont’s greatest success in sectional competition came in the Engineering Graphics category, as it took four of the top five slots. Sophomore John Deuschle was tops in his division, and was joined in the top five by junior Tyler Schoell (2nd), sophomore Spenser Bailey (3rd) and senior Jeff Mason (5th).

Other top-five efforts included Mason (5th) in Computer Science; sophomores Mallory Douglass (3rd) and Taylor Campos (5th) in Biology; junior Dan Wang (3rd) in Chemistry; and senior Alexandra Albrecht (5th) in Mathematics.Lemont’s state finals contingent will include Albrecht, Bailey, Campos, Deuschle, Douglass, Mason, Schoell and Wang, as well as senior Jonathan Dzielski, junior Lauren May, and sophomores Matt Anderson, Misbah Chagpar, Maddie Coules, Paulina Cygan and Sarah O’Donnell.

Lemont also captured its regional competition at the University of St. Francis on February 7, thanks in part to wins in six of seven categories. Included among the regional winners were Anderson (Biology), Wang (Chemistry), Mason (Computer Science), Bailey (Engineering Graphics, English) and Coules (Physics).Justin Stanwyck ‘13 earned back-to-back medals in the Engineering Graphics category at the WYSE State Finals in 2012 (4th) and 2013 (5th). His fourth-place finish in 2012 matched the school’s previous best state finals effort, which came when Robert Erffmeyer ‘07 was fourth in Chemistry in 2006. Lemont had three state medalists at both the 2006 and 2012 WYSE State Finals.

The Academic Challenge is a competitive series of tests created and administered by WYSE and offered to high school students in Illinois and Missouri at more than 50 community colleges and universities. Test material is drawn from senior high school and freshman level college curricula, and written by teams of college and university faculty. Subjects include Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering Graphics, English, Mathematics and Physics. Students compete as individuals and as part of a team.

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