O.C. Shines in Regional Science Olympiad

Students from El Rancho Middle School in Anaheim and Troy High School in Fullerton each clinched first place Saturday at the Southern California Science Olympiad, officials said.

El Rancho, last year’s runner up at the national championships, marked its fourth straight victory in the junior division.

Troy, the 1999 national champions, dominated this year’s senior competition with 11 first-place awards out of 23 events. The team finished above 26 other high schools battling for the prestigious title, said coach Dan Junpanian.

“It’s really exciting, because we had a lot of younger kids on the team this year,” he said. “So we had a little bit of an unknown about how we would do.”

Months of cramming for Saturday’s regional championships at Cal State Long Beach paid off for the two teams, despite tough opposition.

Teams of more than a dozen students squared off, answering questions on biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and other science topics. The events range from a written test on rocks and minerals to a bottle-rocket contest.

“This is a very big honor,” said Ed Rodevich, the Olympiad’s state director. “You’re looking at some of the finest high schools and middle schools in the southern part of the state.”

The winners from both schools can now look to competing against the nation’s brightest young scientists next month at the national championships at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, Wash.