Yearbook Article

The 2002 WYSE team had tremendous success this year. Team members include Lisa Baer, Joshua Blackburn, Michael Butler, Stephen Carroll, Justin Cross, Carrie Deters, Laura Eisenmenger, Sarah Hand, Guthrie Hood, Megan James, Caleb Sancken, Dustin Schwenk, Ben Smith, and Cole Voigt.

In February the team placed 1^st at the Regional competition held at Parkland College. Individual winners at Regionals were Carrie Deters – 3^rd in English, Justin Cross – 3^rd in Engineering Graphics, Ben Smith – 3^rd in Chemistry, Guthrie Hood – 2^nd in Biology, Michael Butler – 1^st in Chemistry, Lisa Baer – 1^st in English, and Dustin Schwenk – 1^st in Math and Physics.

In March the team placed 2^nd at the Sectional competition held at Eastern Illinois University. The teams 2^nd place finish qualified the entire team for State competition. Individual winners were Sarah Hand – 3^rd in English, and Dustin Schwenk – 2^nd in Math and Physics. Also qualifying for State individually were Sarah Hand and Caleb Sancken in Math. Michael Butler and Justin Cross were both 1 point away from placing third in Chemistry and Engineering Graphics respectively.

In April, the team headed to the U of I for the State competition. There the team faced tough competition and placed 20^th in the State in Division 700 schools. Individually, Sarah Hand narrowly missed placing 6^th in English, and Dustin Schwenk placed 5^th in Physics.

All team members should be proud of their accomplishments. While WYSE is a competition that allows for individual advancement, it takes an entire team and all of their scores to advance the team to the State level. The accomplishments of the WYSE Academic Challenge team reflect well upon the students, parents, faculty, school, and communities of this district.

Congratulations on an excellent season!