Science Olympiad clubs across Minnesota prepared and practiced for a four-hour long tournament that determined what teams would be able to advance to the State event Feb. 1.

Adviser Jennifer Magdal said Park competed against seven other high school teams at the Wayzata High School in a number of different events.

“We competed against The Blake School, Delano, Eden Prairie, Jefferson, Kennedy, Minnetonka, Mound Westonka and Wayzata,” Magdal said. “The 15 competitions included topics like entomology, forensic science, dynamic planet, anatomy and physiology and circuit lab.”

Senior Declan Fruchtman, co-captain of the club, said the team wanted to participate in the State tournament, especially since it attended the event last year.

“We were all disappointed that we placed seventh since the top six go to State,” Fruchtman said. “It hurts that we were so close, but I’m still happy with the results since we were awarded more medals than the previous two years.”

Members of Science Olympiad teams work in pairs and are assigned two different events to participate in at tournaments. Fruchtman said the team worked hard in preparation for the numerous events.

“We mostly prepared out of the school, alone or with our designated partner,” Fruchtman said. “Some of the events included labs and technological projects, which require time before the competition for their construction. For the events I competed in, I used practice tests in order to study.”

Freshmen Freja Olsen and Maddie Cook placed fourth in “GeoLogic Mapping.” Juniors Elizabeth Glennon and Evan VanDenEinde placed third in “Rollercoaster.” Seniors Declan Fruchtman and Eli Roehlkepartain placed fourth in “Write it Do it.”