Athens Hosts Science Olympiad Invitational 2025

The Athens, Troy High, and IA East Science Olympiad teams kicked off this SciOly season with a bang – the annual Hawk and Hornet Invitational! Hawk and Hornet is cohosted by Athens and Saline high school, hosted at each one every other year. This year, it was Athens’ turn to welcome over 800 student competitors across 59 teams from all over Michigan to compete in one of the largest invitational Science Olympiad tournaments in the state.

The day was full of fun, competition, and of course, lots of stress. But it paid off for our varsity teams with Athens placing 3rd overall, Troy High in 8th place, and IA East in 16th. Athens took the lead in events such as circuit lab and forensics, placing 3rd and 2nd respectively. Troy High dominated chemistry lab and materials science, taking home firsts in both. And IA East took home a 3rd place for a stellar robot tour build.

📸 by Saaya Shrikant, a Creative Guild Student Producer.

The first competition is always the most challenging, but always ramps up the spirit for the season to come. Preparing for the first competition is equally as challenging as competing in it, but hosting the tournament presents a whole new set of challenges for the Athens SciOly board and varsity team to navigate in the days and weeks leading up to the event. Although it may be stressful, it’s a rewarding process to see the innerworkings of a tournament and all the hard work that goes into hosting one.

Up next, the Troy SciOly teams will be heading to the Northview High School Invitational in December, quickly followed by the busiest time of the season at the beginning of next year. The varsity teams especially will be heading off to invitational competitions nearly every weekend. We wish everyone in Science Olympiad good luck for the rest of the season and happy studying!

Blog post by Nikhil Rao, a Creative Guild Student Producer.