AHS’s Science Olympiad team makes state

The team beats long-standing rivals at regionals

Staff Writer

On Saturday, February 8th, AHS’s Science Olympiad team competed in CSU East Bay’s Alameda Regional Tournament, earning the team a bid to the NorCal Science Olympiad State Championships. It challenged some of the state’s fiercest competitors, earning second place and for the first time in the team’s fourteen-year history, beating Mission San Jose HS’s team.

This season has been largely unlike the others the team has experienced. Team captain Ishan Patel (12) said, “Our varsity team placed second out of 42 teams, and this competition was a major milestone. We’ve never beat Mission San Jose HS, and we made it to state alongside Castro Valley, a school that went to the national championships.”

The win had been a long time coming with preparations beginning last summer. He continued, “As soon as we had a varsity team, they were working on preparing for all of the events. Team members gave us a daily update on their individual progress, and when the school year began, we opened trials for our other two teams: the red team and white team.”

The teams are color-coded in accordance to rigor with blue, the varsity team, followed by red, then white.

Red team member, Harshi Pannala (10), said, “About last Saturday’s competition, regionals, preparing for that was definitely both exciting and stressful. In a way, it’s relieving to know that everything I do can be displayed, but there was a lot of studying, practicing, and last-minute cramming. I think that it did feel worthwhile once we got to compete—it’s amazing to get to see your hard work come together, and the energy at the competition is always really motivating. Just being there, competing with your teammates, feels really good.”

Another team member, Sanushya Subramaniam (10), said, “It’s a gradual process, but it’s really worth it by the end. You feel your hard work pay off at competitions and invitationals, and it’s really like your soul’s in it. We get to showcase everything we’ve worked so hard on throughout the year, and it’s amazing to compete alongside people just really passionate about science.”

AHS celebrated a total of 22 medalists at this year’s regionals and a margin over Mission San Jose HS of 25 points. In the team’s fourteen-year history, it has made state in 2015, then every year from 2018 through 2025 for a total of nine times.

The team also wanted to thank someone special for his unwavering support. Patel said, “The entire season, our advisor, Mr. Shockley, was integral in the tryouts process, aiding team roster decisions and [providing] event advice while also traveling with us during tournaments. Above all, he served as a mentor during our struggles and successes, and we owe it to him and the flexibility of school administration.”

Mr. Shockley responded, “I really can’t claim any credit for anything. They’re doing everything: running the organization, doing the practices, the work, and they’re getting the results. I think they’ve done a pretty great job this year.”