Mar 17, 2019 3 min read

USC Odyssey teams

Seven Upper St. Clair teams qualified to compete at the Pennsylvania Odyssey State Tournament, which will be held on April 6, in the Pocono Mountain School District. The teams advancing to the Pennsylvania Odyssey State Tournament represent Odyssey divisions 1 (elementary), 2 (middle school) and 3 (high school) and include:

First Place

• Boyce Middle School – Technical Problem, Division 1: Ellie Simons, Collin Rosenberg, Addie Young, Lily Simons, Kurt Baran, Lauren Ginsburg, Geneva Eisinger; Coaches: Nate Eisinger, Artie Baran and Simon Rosenberg

• Baker Elementary School – Performance Problem, Division 1: Grace McDonough, Catalina Ramirez, Emme Ciccolella, Molly Biedrzycki, Max Urban, Milena Casciani, Franco Liberatore; Coach: Katie Talarico

• Boyce Middle School – Performance Problem, Division 2: Esha Lathia, Ben Murtough, Anastasia Gzikowski, John Tripodes, Ben Seewald, Owen Mucho, Peter Markovitz; Coaches: Meridith Markovitz, Stacey Seewald and Laura Murtough

• USCHS – Performance Problem, Division 3: Eric Wang, Constantine Tripodes, Victoria Cuba, Sammie Seewald, Brianna Lin, Max Murtough, Joseph Markovitz; Coaches: Laura Murtough, Stacey Seewald and Meridith Markovitz

Second Place

• Fort Couch Middle School – Vehicle Problem, Division 2: Harrison Barker, Anushka Sharma, George Abdel-Messih, Lindsay Ross, Neha Sriram, Ben Ross, Michael Conte; Coaches: Stephanie Ross and Neelum Sharma

• Fort Couch Middle School – Classics Problem, Division 2: Alex Sun, Cameron Coller, Cameron Weber, Rosemary Ramirez, Reese Copenhaver, Josilyn Seftchick, Jack Lowden; Coaches: Rachel Lowden and Katie Talarico

• USCHS – Classics Problem, Division 3: Anoushka Sinha, Gracie Lowden, Jacob Conte, Isabella Putorti, Christina Conte, Maggie Lowden; Coaches: Rachel Lowden and Beatrice Conte

The Western Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament took place on March 2, at Keystone Oaks Middle School/High School. In total, 14 Upper St. Clair teams competed including seven elementary teams, five middle school teams and two high school teams.

Japanese contest awards

Three Upper St. Clair High School students placed first in the annual High School Japanese Speech Contest on March 1, at the University of Pittsburgh. Earning first place finishes were senior Michaela Kauffelt, poster; sophomore Caroline Knizner, beginner speech; and senior Marty Bryant, intermediate speech. Also finishing in the top three in their respective categories were senior Kathleen Knizner, second place in intermediate speech; and sophomore Stephanie Lu, third place for her poster.

More than 100 high school Japanese language learners participated in one of four speech levels according to their level of instruction.

In addition to those who placed, the following Upper St. Clair students participated in the Japanese contest: Sara Edkins, Xavier Hlavsa, Kymahni Vidale, David Wang entered the poster category and Hunter Bench; and Madelyn Lebedda competed in the beginner speech category.

The competition is hosted by the Asian Studies Center, the University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania. For more information, contact the Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania at 412-856-8608 or email jasp@us-japan.org.

PJAS

Two Bethel Park High School Freshmen earned Second Place Awards at the 85th Annual Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science held in February on the Duquesne University campus.

Meghan Erfort was recognized for her project, “The Effects of pH on Bovine Liver Catalase,” and Anna Levis was recognized for her project, “The Effects of pH on Lead Testing.”

The students were prepared for this competition by Bethel Park High School Science Teacher Barbara Eisel.