The Marlborough Science Olympiad Team competed in regional finals at Rio Hondo College in Whittier on Feb. 24 and 25. 

Nine students participated and split themselves into four teams. Each team competed in one of four different events: Disease Detectives, Mission Possible, Code Busters and Anatomy & Physiology. Out of 51 teams, Franny ’21 and Emma ’21, who competed in Disease Detectives, finished in ninth place, and the other teams ranked in the top 50%. 

Emma is one of the co-leaders of the team, along with Franny, and has participated in this competition for two years. This year, Franny and Emma took on epidemiology, the study of diseases and how they spread, through a written test focused on statistical analysis and problem solving. 

“It is such a fun way to expand your knowledge outside of a normal science class and learn about something you are passionate about. The events are extremely challenging, but that’s what makes it interesting and fun!” Emma said.

Emma said she was happy to see the team expand this year, tripling their participation from last year and moving up in the ranks.

“Considering that we meet once per week at a lunch period while many of the teams competing meet every day after school, I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in just two years as a team. I know that we’re only going to get better in the future, and I can’t wait to see the program grow even more,” Emma said.

Megan ’19 was a member of “00000011 Musketeers,” the team that competed in the Codebusters event, along with Emma ’19 and Peyton ’20. “00000011” is “three” in binary, a number system commonly used in computer science consisting of 1’s and 0’s. The event involved decoding different ciphers to reveal hidden messages.

“We worked really well together, and our strengths complemented each other perfectly. It was our first time, and we didn’t entirely have a feel for the strategy of the event, [but] I’m really proud that we did so well,” Meghan said.

Delilah ’21 competed in the Anatomy & Physiology event with Sarah ’21. Freund was surprised that she had an enjoyable experience at the competition, considering the high stakes.

“I bonded with my teammates throughout the process, especially at the actual competition. It was also nice to learn more about the lymphatic and cardiovascular [systems] in a different environment,” Delilah said.