Science Olympiad 2019

After months of Friday afternoon practices, today was finally the day for Science Olympiad competition!  Preston was on the JV2 team and was able to compete in 3 events . . . ramp and roll (which I coached), 3-2-1 blastoff, and data crunchers

Ramp and Roll teams

After getting up at 4:40am to get my long run in and throwing things together we were off to UNC-Charlotte by 6:20am.  I thought I had all of my ducks in a row, but quickly realized that no matter how much you plan and prepare somethings you just can't control.  Like when one member of your team is late to the event that starts FIRST and forgets the car for the competition! Let's just say it was one stressful start to the day, but things ended up okay.  Lots of lessons were learned too. :)

The second event was Data Crunchers.  Well, let's just say Preston crushed that one!  He and Maks were a team and they said they knew every question on the test.  They did pretty well too, ranking second overall!

Data Crunchers Team

 The final event for Preston was the one he was most excited about!  3-2-1 blastoff was SO much fun!!  His rocket did great and although it did get stuck in a tree, he had a great time.  Thankfully we got some help and managed to get it out of the tree before leaving.

William & Preston partners for 3-2-1 blastoff

We rescued the rocket from the tree and couldn't wait to find out if he placed with this event!

We took a quick break and headed home for lunch (and to pick up Dave and Savannah) before coming back for the awards ceremony.

This kid rocked his first SO competition!!  He placed second in Data Crunchers and third in 3-2-1 blastoff!  I'm sure he would have placed in Ramp and Roll too if we hadn't been penalized for not having the car on time.  But, hey, not many kids left with one medal, much less TWO medals so we were pretty excited!  Actually, he was so excited he says his socks were lucky and refuses to let me wash them. HA!

It was a super long day, but in the end, it was worth it!  Preston says he can't wait to do it again next year, but after my crazy morning, I'm not sure I'm as excited to do it again. . . ever!