NASHUA – High school students representing the city who have a knack for science showcased their skills during the New Hampshire Science Olympiad at Saint Anselm College.

The competition challenges students to solve problems in five broad science categories: Life, Personal and Social Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science and Chemistry, Technology and Engineering, and Inquiry and Nature of Science.

Teams of 15 students compete in 23 different events consisting of both “builds,” which are completed before competition time, and tests, or a combination of both.

Some of the events require students to complete tasks and answer questions about electricity and magnetism, or demonstrate knowledge on topics such as the anatomy and physiology of the human body systems. They also involve stellar evolution, genetics and fossils and design experiments.

Students from both Nashua High School North and South’s Science Olympiad clubs competed. The day-long competition takes place at Saint Anselm College each year to determine which school will represent New Hampshire at the National Science Olympiad Competition.

Nashua High School North Science Olympiad co-adviser Samantha Bencivenga said her students have already competed in three invitational meets at Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University to practice and hone their skills in preparation for the state competition. In addition, Bencivenga said most of the preparation and builds happen at the students’ homes outside of school hours. She said many students do their own research, which includes reaching out to teachers and community members for help and advice.

“They do it all themselves and deserve all of the credit for how amazing they are,” Bencivenga said.

The top three finalists of the State Competition were Merrimack High School, which came in first place, followed by Phillips Exeter Academy and Bedford High School. Two teams competed from Nashua High School North. North Team A came in fourth place in the state competition out of 20 teams.

North Team B finished in 12th place, overall. Bencivenga said there were some students who placed in the top six in certain categories. They received ribbons for recognition, while some also placed in the top three for different categories and received medals.

The awards earned by Nashua

students are as

follows

Nashua High School North students from Team A (overall fourth-place team) received the following recognitions:

Geomapping: first place, Varun Lingadal and Grace Lehto.

Wright Stuff: second place, Ashley Robert and Jorge Giraldo.

Sound of Music: second place, Sarala Sharma and Emily Guo.

Herpetology: third place, Grace Lehto and Jacob Morin.

Astronomy: third place, Varun Lingadal and Julie Sage.

Designer Genes: third place, Matt Woodworth and Anjana Govindaraj.

Fossils: third place, Sarala Sharma and Alex Pickett.

Mousetrap Vehicle: fourth place, Cody Gallant and Julie Sage.

Code Busters: fifth place, Emily Guo, Joanna Raja, and Ashley O’Young.

Water Quality: fifth place, Grace Lehto and Rachel Holden.

Fermi Questions: fifth place, Anajana Govindaraj and Cody Gallant.

Nashua High School North students from Team B (overall 12th-place team) received the following recognitions:

Herpetology: first place, Michelle Larivee and Joshua Morin.

Write It-Do It: fifth place, Nitya Babbar and Ashley Goh.

Nashua High School South’s Team A placed 11th and B Team placed 16th. Team A members received the following recognitions:

Designer Genes: first place, Shreya Nagri and Anna Mathew.

Dynamic Planet: second place, Srinath Rangan and Anish Kammila.

Fermi Questions: third place, Kunaal Sundara and Suhaas Katikaneni.

Thermodynamics: third place, Srinath Rangan and Suhaas Katikaneni.

Codebusters: fourth place, Rucha Dave, Amol Khanna and Kunaal Sundara.

Circuit Lab: fifth place, Srinath Rangan and Sahil Mahendrakar.

Geological Mapping: sixth place, Deepti Srinivasan and Yesha Patel.

Astronomy: sixth place, Srinath Rangan and Suhaas Katikaneni.

Nashua High School South Team B received the following recognitions:

Water Quality: sixth place, Prachi Kharade and Akhil Kammila.

Fossils: sixth place, Sabrina Kearney.

Dynamic Planet: sixth place, Akhil Kammila and Ayush Patel.