Dear Harriton High School,

As you have maybe seen in the photos and videos floating around on Facebook of Harriton’s Science Olympiad team, winning States this year was a big deal to us. The thought that we had added another year to the sixteen-year streak was like lightning down the spines of each and every member of the team.

Unfortunately, the announcement that Harriton had won yet another State tournament was false; because of a data accounting mistake, Harriton and Penncrest High Schools were incorrectly scored in one event. In a competition that ended up being so close, the point discrepancy from this one mistake meant that Harriton was incorrectly awarded a first place trophy, while Penncrest mistakenly walked away with second place. When the scores were reevaluated several days later, Pennsylvania Science Olympiad realized the mistake and corrected the error. This made Harriton High School nine points behind Penncrest, and Penncrest was later declared the winner.

In many ways, this has been a difficult few days for everybody in Harriton High School Science Olympiad (or H₂S₂O, as we stylize ourselves). We celebrated a triumphant weekend, during which we believed that we had emerged as first in the state yet again. Yet on Monday, we found out that we would have to swallow our pride and accept a second place finish. Our long streak has been broken.

In many other ways, though, this has been an exciting few days for H₂S₂O.  Throughout the past 16 years, a state title has been somewhat of a curse. From the countless state titles, only a small few national titles have been born. Perhaps this phenomenon is about our resilience and ability to focus. Perhaps we simply grow complacent. Exactly why we have been a team that consistently carves out its place at the top of the state, but have not been able to reliably earn a spot at the top of the nation is unclear; however, this year can be different. We have not reached the top. We have not decided that what we have done is so great that it is worth a respite. We still have a phenomenal group of roughly three-dozen intelligent and hard-working individuals who now want to fight tooth and nail for dominance in the nation. There is no choice now but to use our energy to show that of which we are capable.

Since the state competition, H₂S₂O has been working tirelessly to head to the top at the National Competition in Orlando, Florida. We have in mind now only to prove to ourselves and everyone else the great things that we can do. Writing as the co-captain of the team this year, I can assure you that the members of the Science Olympiad team are clever, capable, and a threat to all other teams across the country—both in the remaining week of this season and the seasons to come.

Harriton Science Olympiad is a dedicated team of passionate individuals who strive to be the best in twenty-three different events that span all sorts of scientific fields. In the coming weeks, months, and decades, we can assure you that we (and future teams) will be working hard to place Harriton High School on the top again. The first 16-year streak is over but, despite this setback, we see no reason not to expect another decades-long path of dominance into the future. We are impassioned now more than ever and when a group of talented and knowledgeable individuals come together to form a team, there is little that can stand in its way, whether in Pennsylvania or the entire country.

From,

Your Science Olympiad Team