Colorado homeschoolers win state science tournament for middle, high school divisions

Teamwork and other social talents spurred Colorado middle-school and high-school homeschoolers to win a Science Olympiad tournament this month – setting them up for a nationwide contest in May.

“The soft skills – being able to work as part of a team and work with partners, I think – is critical,” said Homeschool Science Colorado’s head coach Cindy Puhek in an interview with the local Fox affiliate.

The group’s achievements April 5 at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs ranked it first among 30 other teams from all over the Centennial State, according to Catholicvote.org. 

“This is the third time since 2021 that the team has won the high school division and the first time that it has won the middle school division,” Elizabeth Weiss wrote. 

However, previous victories didn’t lessen the magnitude of this year’s triumph for homeschooler Lydia Wickerham. 

“I feel ecstatic about it,” she said of the team’s achievements. “None of us were really expecting it this year.” 

‘Entirely parent funded’ 

The homeschool students will compete at the 41st National Science Olympiad Tournament at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on May 23-24. 

“It really is teamwork,” Puhek explained of the team’s successes. “You have to do well across all 23 events to win, so you have to have everybody committed.” 

This commitment extends beyond just the students to their families, the group noted on its Facebook page April 9. 

“Taking 30 kids to an out of state tournament is a very expensive proposition,” the post read concerning the group’s upcoming trip to Nebraska. “Our team is entirely parent funded and we don’t have any tax dollars supporting us like most of the public school teams we’re competing with do. We would really appreciate your help getting these young scientists to the National Science Olympiad Tournament.” 

The post links to a GoFundMe page organized by Carrie Marie Johnson, which has raised nearly $5,000 of a $20,000 goal as of April 28.