April 21, 2009
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS , OH – A team of Roxboro Middle School students showcased their scientific knowledge and placed in three events at the Science Olympiad State Tournament on April 18. Competing against 38 other teams at The Ohio State University, Roxboro students finished the tournament ranked 27th in the State of Ohio. This was the first year CH-UH students participated in Science Olympiad and Roxboro students advanced to the state tournament after qualifying at the regional tournament in Akron.

The members of the Roxboro Team are Garth Bennett, Joseph Bills, Victoria Cikanek, Casandra Espenschied, Nathan Friel, Stefanos Gazis, Lillian Hall, Catherine Hanley, James Johnson, Bryan Kent, Phoebe Lammert, Cornelius Pewu, Thomas Pharis, Grace Phillips, and Ellen Posch. Maxwell Janssen served as alternate for the team.

The following students received awards at the competition:
5th Place Pentathlon – Stefanos Gazis, James Johnson, Bryan Kent, and Cornelius Pewu
4th Place Environmental Chemistry – Victoria Cikanek and Nathan Friel
3rd Place Disease Detectives – Garth Bennett and Grace Phillips

Sponsored by The Ohio State University, the Ohio Science Olympiad is an academic, interscholastic competition designed to increase student interest in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and to improve the quality of science education. It has grown phenomenally from just 23 teams competing in state competition in 1985 to 263 teams competing in eight regional tournaments in 2009. Nationally, over 350,000 students are involved in the Science Olympiad.