The Greenville Weston High School senior’s tenacity rivaled that of the more than 100 students vying for the trip to nationals set for May 18-19 in Bloomington, Indiana.

The ambitious group of 6-12 graders was from Gloster Elementary, Powell Middle School located in Jackson, Trinity Episcopal Day School of Natchez, Collins, Terry and Greenville Weston High Schools.

The students were split into two groups: Division B, comprised of 6-9 graders, and Division C that included 9-12 grades. Only one team from each could represent the state at nationals.

Students went head- to-head in 19 events, including Solar System Jeopardy, Bottle Rocket, Bridge Building, Disease Detective, Sounds of Music, Rocks and Minerals, Storm the Castle and Forensics.

Parker competed in Robot Ramble and Towers. He and his partner, Lloyd Moore, made up the only team to participate in Robot Ramble. However, just when it looked as if the duo was destined for a sure victory, a broken wheel on their homebuilt robot kept the machine from conquering an obstacle course. The snag could have earned the team an automatic disqualification, but the overall quality of their robot and sheer perseverance—even though they had no challengers— astounded the judges.

“It was their initiative,” said facilitator Travis Griffin of Southern Miss’ College of Science and Technology. “The students didn’t give up, and based on their persistency, we couldn’t deny them an opportunity to go to nationals,” he said.

Griffin said even more impressive was Parker’s ability to simultaneously focus his attention on the tedious task of piecing together the highest, lightest building for the Towers competition with his teammate Jeffery Scott. The two would garner second place in this event.

“The lesson in this is to never doubt yourself,” said Parker. “Our win proves hard work pays off.”

The “never give up” attitude produced a lot of winners during the competition. After individual awards were handed out, Greenville Weston High and Trinity Episcopal Day School learned they were the top two teams and were headed to Indiana this summer.

“This is quite exciting,” said Katherine Timm of Trinity Episcopal Day School. “It was kind of hard as they (facilitators) want us to become good scientists, do our best.”

“The overall mission of this event is to create an environment where students are able to express their strong interest in engineering, technology, science and mathematics,” said Griffin.

The event was sponsored in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior.

For a comprehensive list of the winners or more information about the Mississippi Science Olympiad Competition, please email Travis Griffin at Travis.Griffin@usm.edu or call 601.266.6864.

Greenville Weston High School celebrates first-place win at the 15th annual Mississippi Science Olympiad Competition held Friday at the University of Southern Mississippi. The group is headed to the National Science Olympiad Competition set for May18-19 in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Greenville Weston High School's Cordero Parker works to take home first place in the Robot Ramble event despite a broken wheel during the15th annual Mississippi Science Olympiad Competition held at the University of Southern Mississippi.

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Trinity Episcopal Day School celebrates first-place win at the 15th annual Mississippi Science Olympiad Competition held Friday at the University of Southern Mississippi. The group is headed to the National Science Olympiad Competition set for May18-19 in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Last updated: 02/21/06