26 earn superior ratings at District Science Day held at WC

Wilmington College hosted the Ohio District 17 Science Day Saturday, March 16 for the ninth consecutive year as 64 high school, middle school and elementary school students presented their research projects.

The students, coming primarily from Clinton, Fayette, Highland and Brown counties, received superior ratings at their local science fairs in order to qualify for the District Science Day.

Dr. Russell Kincaid, associate professor of mathematics at Wilmington College, coordinated the District Science Day activities. He noted how pleased he was with the quality of the projects in spite of a decrease from last year in total projects entered in the competition.

“Year after year, the students continue to impress me,” he said, “However, the lower number of participants did not detract from the quality of the projects presented. We had roughly the same number of projects qualify for the state competition as last year.

“Our area students always do well at State Science Day, and I look forward to seeing how many superiors we receive at state this year,” he added.

Kincaid noted the state competition offers numerous scholarships and other cash awards.

“This year we have 26 projects which received superior ratings, and we hope that all the students involved with these projects get the opportunity to compete at the state competition in May,” he said.

“The dedication of the teachers and parents, as well as the efforts of the students in performing the research, is commendable.”

The students presented research on projects that covered a wide range of topics including: agriculture, biotechnology, energy, environmental sciences, information science and technology, botany, and material science, among others.

Students represented 12 schools within Ohio’s 17th District including: Blanchester High School, Eastern Middle School, Fairfield Local Middle School, Fayetteville-Perry Middle School and High School, Georgetown Elementary, Junior High and Senior High Schools, Hamersville Middle School, Hillsboro High School, Lynchburg-Clay High School and Wilmington Middle School.

In Highland County, Fairfield Middle School science teacher Raymond Friend brought four teams to Wilmington College for the event: Jensen Daulton and William Walker, Alexandria Powers and Joshua Willey, Hannah Crank and Jason Moeller, and Brittany Mondabaugh and Emily Shope.

Of these students, the teams of Daulton/Walker and Powers/Willey qualified for the state competition.

Lynchburg-Clay High School science teacher Lara Hamilton brought nine students including Jordan Mason, Zachary Blankenship, Noah Stoltz, Seth Walker, Alan West, Shannon MacLeod, Grace McKnight, Emily Rowley, and Quinn Stoltz to the competition.

Of these students, Zachary Blankenship, Noah Stoltz, Seth Walker, and Alan West qualified for the state competition. LeAnn Frazer from Hillsboro High School brought two students, Amber Chaney and Samantha Fender to the competition, and both students qualified for the state.
Special awards included scholarships and cash prizes.

The Ohio Soybean Council awarded cash prizes to Jenna Griffith of Georgetown Elementary, Shannon MacLeod of Lynchburg-Clay High School and Jay Schneder of Wilmington Middle School.

The Southwest Ohio Water Environment Association Committee awarded cash prizes to two individuals and one team judged to have the best environmental projects. The team of John Holcomb and Kelsey MacGregor of Blanchester received first place, while Andrew Day of Hamersville received second place and Brady Bergefurd from Wilmington Middle School received third place.

In addition, $100 scholarships toward the B Wiser summer science camp for eighth grade girls were awarded to Samantha Burns, Heather Fryman, Loghan Kinsey, and Tristin Vail from Wilmington Middle School, Haley Fannin and Paige Walker from Eastern Middle School, and Alyssa Sullivan from Fayetteville-Perry Middle School.

Support for the District Science Day was provided by a number of businesses within the 17th District. These include Generations Pizza, Damon’s Bar and Grill, Domino’s Pizza, El Dorado Mexican Restaurant, Papa John’s Pizza, #1 China Buffet, Royal Z Lanes, Subway, Jen’s Deli, and Beaugard’s BBQ in Wilmington; and Dakota’s Roadhouse, La Cascada Mexican Restaurant, Ponderosa, Holtfield Station, Alley 21, and Pizza Hut in Hillsboro.

Wilmington College provided facilities for District Science Day.

Kincaid lauded colleagues Dr. Donald Troike, Dr. Douglas Burks, and Dr. Chasity Coleman, all professors of biology at Wilmington College, for providing “invaluable assistance” in the coordination of judges, scoring and prize determination.

Numerous judges, including Wilmington College faculty, students and members of the community, “graciously gave of their time to make this event possible,” Kincaid said.

In addition, Melo-Dee Frederick, secretary for the sciences at WC, provided logistical support and on-site coordination for the event.

“The time and efforts of all these individuals, as well as the students, teachers, and parents, made this event a success,” he said.