Kishwaukee College hosted the Worldwide Youth in Sciences and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge on Tuesday, February 3. Eight area high schools sent teams of students to compete in academic testing in seven categories: biology, chemistry, computer science, English, engineering graphics, mathematics, and physics.
Competing high schools were placed in one of four divisions based on enrollment. Division 300 is for schools with 300 or fewer students; competitors were Christian Cornerstone, Paw Paw High School, Indian Creek High School, and Hiawatha High School. Division 700 is for schools with 300 – 700 students. The lone competitor in this category was Genoa-Kingston High School. Division 1500 is for schools with 700 – 1500 students; competitors in this division were Rochelle Township High School and Sycamore High School. Division Unlimited is for schools with enrollments of more than 1500 students. The lone competitor in this category was DeKalb High School.
Earning Division 1500 first place team honors was Sycamore High School and second place went to Rochelle High School. Earning first place team honors for Division 300 schools was Cornerstone Christian, second place went to Indian Creek, and third place to Paw Paw. First and second place teams advance to the WYSE sectional competition at Northern Illinois University. The DeKalb and the Genoa-Kingston teams will also advance to NIU.
Medals were awarded in each of the four divisions to the students earning the top three scores in each academic area. Gold medal winners in each academic category are:
Biology: Kelly Aves, Hiawatha; Uriel Espinoza, G-K; Jennifer Kuo, Sycamore; Allegra Domel, DeKalb.
Chemistry: Jenny Guo, Cornerstone Christian; Abbey Rasmussen, G-K; Austin Schmidt, Sycamore; Paul Cappaert, DeKalb.
Computer Science: Tyler Hamrock, Hiawatha; Trevor Simons, G-K; Ethan Brockwell, Rochelle; Ranzy Collins, DeKalb.
Engineering Graphics: Cody Suddeth, Indian Creek; Kaley Oplt and Allanna Wilcox, G-K (tie); Marina Eraas, Rochelle; Andrew Yohanan, DeKalb.
English: Kelly Aves, Hiawatha, and Talon Diaz, Cornerstone Christian (tie); Kaley Oplt, G-K; Jennifer Kuo, Sycamore; Allegra Domel, DeKalb.
Math: Vicki Teng, Cornerstone Christian; Nick Adamczyk, Collin Stratton, and Emma Villella, G-K (tie); Tritt Alexandria, Sycamore; Julia Brain, DeKalb.
Physics: Frank Zhang, Cornerstone Christian; Trevor Simons, G-K; Katrina Carpenter, Rochelle; Nick Rigas, DeKalb.
In addition, the student who achieved the highest score for the day in each academic category, across divisions, received a tuition waiver from Kishwaukee College for three credit hours. The tuition waiver recipients in each category were: Jennifer Kuo, Sycamore, Biology; Austin Schmidt, Sycamore, Chemistry; Trevor Simons, Genoa-Kingston, Computer Science; Cody Suddeth, Indian Creek, Engineering Graphics; Jennifer Kuo, Sycamore, and Allegra Domel, DeKalb, English; Vicki Teng, Cornerstone Christian, Math; and Trevor Simons, Genoa-Kingston, Physics.
The next WYSE competition will be the sectionals to be held at NIU followed by the state competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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