Winners Announced for 2016 WYSE State Finals

Hinsdale Central (unlimited division), Fenwick (1500 division), Normal U-High (700 non-boundaried), Maroa-Forsyth (700 boundaried), Urbana Uni High (300 unboundaried division), and Gallatin County (300 boundaried division) were named team state champions in the 2016 Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering (WYSE) Academic Challenge hosted by the University of Illinois College of Engineering.

Around 1,400 students from 196 schools from across the state of Illinois who advanced from regional and sectional competition in recent months descended on campus to compete for the state championships in four different divisions – unlimited (schools with enrollments over 1,500 students), 1,500 (schools between 701 and 1,500), 700 (schools between 301 and 700) and 300 (schools under 300 students). In addition, schools in the 300 and 700 divisions competed for team titles in either the boundaried (districts with definitive boundaries) or non-boundaried categories.

Teams consisted in 14-member varsity teams or as individual at-large competitors. Each student took two exams. There are seven subject areas from which each student chose their two tests -- biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, mathematics and physics. The materials for tests are drawn from senior high school and freshman level college curricula and are written by teams of college and university faculty. Each test production team produces three tests of increasing levels of difficulty for the regional, sectional and state finals.

Here are state results:

Complete Results

Individual and Team Award Photos

Unlimited Division

Team Results

1. Hinsdale Central
2. Stevenson
3. Naperville North
4. Libertyville
5. Barrington

Individual Category Winners
Biology – Ankush Bajaj, Hinsdale Central
Chemistry – Kelvin Li, Naperville North
Computer Science – Arnav Sankaran, Hinsdale Central
Engineering Graphics – Eddy Ionescu, Barrington
English – Jessica Chen, Deerfield; Jakob Myers, Naperville North
Math – Danny Emge, Naperville North
Physics – Jason Lu, Stevenson; Elliot Stahnke, Libertyville

 

1,500 Division

Team Results

1. Fenwick
2. Vernon Hills
3. Mahomet-Seymour
4. Richmond-Burton
5. Prairie Ridge

 

Individual Category Winners
Biology – XinYi Ren, Mahomet-Seymour
Chemistry – Annie Qiu, Prairie Ridge
Computer Science – Jackson Wilson, Bloomington
Engineering Graphics – Max Glaser, Richmond-Burton
English – Maria Feucht, Morton
Math – Maxwell Jong, Dunlap
Physics – Ari Bard, Vernon Hills; Ian Crowell, Fenwick

700 Division

Unboundaried Team Results

1. Normal U-High
2. University of Chicago Lab Schools
3. Wheaton Academy
4. Timothy Christian
5. Marmion Academy

Boundaried Team Results

1. Maroa-Forsyth
2. Nashville
3. Carlinville
4. Freeburg
5. Byron

Individual Results
Biology – Scott Becker, Aurora Central Catholic
Chemistry – Alex Berowski, Freeburg
Computer Science – John Diffor, Normal U-High
Engineering Graphics – Hayward Melton, University of Chicago Lab School; Ben VanderPlaats, Chicago Christian
English – Isra Hasnain, Maroa-Forsyth
Math – Elbert Du, University of Chicago Lab Schools
Physics – John Diffor, Normal U-High; Lucas McDonald, Marmion Academy

300 Division

Unboundaried Team Results

1. University High School (Urbana)
2. College Preparatory School of America
3. Elgin Academy
4. Decatur St. Teresa
5. Effingham St. Anthony
   
    

Boundaried Team Results

1. Gallatin County
2. Cumberland
3. Athens
4. Galena
5. ROWVA

Individual Category Winners
Biology – Farhan Salman, College Preparatory School of America
Chemistry – Tegan Lakshmanan, St. Teresa (Decatur)
Computer Science – Connor Reardon, St. Teresa (Decatur)
Engineering Graphics – Drew Warner, Cumberland
English – Emily Gibson, University High School (Urbana)
Math – Sam Guo, University High School (Urbana)
Physics – Sam Guo, University High School (Urbana)