WYSE competition held Feb. 5 at IVCC

OGLESBY — Ottawa High School, Seneca High School and Marquette Academy each won their respective team divisions at the Feb. 5 Illinois Valley Community College Academic Challenge Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) competition.

Ottawa repeated as Division 1500 winner (enrollments of 701-1500) followed by LaSalle-Peru and Streator; Seneca captured Division 700 (enrollments of 301-700) followed by Deer Creek-Mackinaw and St. Bede Academy; and Marquette took Division 300 (300 or less) followed by Putnam County and Midland. In all, 12 teams and 260 students participated.

First-place individuals in the big school division were LP’s Carter Sawin, biology, and Klayton Kowalski, computer science; Streator’s Sam Lesak, chemistry, and Franklin McDonald, math; Ottawa’s Nathaniel Wilson, engineering graphics, Mara Briones, English, and Dayne Coveyou, physics.

Firsts in the mid-level division were Deer Creek Mackinaw’s Caroline Creager, biology, and Nicholas Hubner, computer science; St. Bede’s Brent Koogler, chemistry (tie); Seneca’s Sean Baker, chemistry (tie), Cole Westmoreland, engineering graphics, Carina Collet, English (tie), Lyle Marshall, math, and Kole Gallick, physics; and Hall’s Ashley Choate, English (tie).

Small-school firsts were Marquette’s Brandon Scherer, chemistry (tie), Brenda Morales, computer science, Kenneth Zollars, biology, Andion San Gabriel, math (tie), and Alexandra Kissel, English; Putnam County’s Jacob Ritko, chemistry (tie); LaMoille’s Clay Stuepfert, engineering graphics; and Midland’s Austin Hopper, math (tie), and Elliot Watkins, physics.

Small-school seconds went to Marquette’s Aurora Flavel, biology, Thomas Lechtenberg, chemistry, Scherer, engineering graphics, and Kenneth Zollars, physics (tie); Putnam County’s Alexis Dauck, computer science, Jacob Ritko, English, and Noah Quinones, physics; and Midland’s Megan Desmet, math.

Division 700 seconds went to St. Bede’s Andrew Kim, biology, Annie Yang, chemistry (tie), Ben Sons, computer science (tie), and Victor Hernandez and James Perona, math (tie); Seneca’s Colleen Kinsella, chemistry (tie) and math (tie), and Zach Rivett, engineering graphics; Dee-Mack’s Sam Brodahl, chemistry (tie), and Cam Thurmond, computer science (tie); Mendota’s McKennon Escatel, computer science (tie), Natalie Landgraf, English, and Lucas Anderson, physics; and Hall’s Evan Kiphart, Marco Uribe and Connor Whitten, computer science (tie).

Big-school seconds were L-P’s Ulysses Marquez-Valenzuela, biology, Tanner Martin and Melanie Wilson, computer science (tie); and Ottawa’s Andrew Felty, chemistry, Jason Bessett, engineering graphics, Claire Schaibley, English, Dayne Coveyou, math, and Seamus McGettigan, physics.

First- and second-place teams and individuals advance to the Parkland College Sectional in Champaign on March 10, said IVCC’s Academic Challenge coordinator Ron Groleau, Dean of Natural Sciences and Business.