Sierra Vista Middle School’s Science Olympiad team won the national title at the 41st Annual Science Olympiad National Tournament! This is Sierra Vista’s second time winning the championship, previously winning in 2022.
Record-Breaking Achievements
In addition to securing the national championship, the team broke the record for the best winning score at an in-person National Tournament with a score of 93 points, outpacing the previous record by over 50 points. Adding to their record-breaking achievements, they also broke the record for the most medals won, earning medals in 18 events plus two exhibition events. The Sierra Vista team previously tied for the most medals earned with 16 medals won at the 2023 National Tournament.
The 2025 Sierra Vista team consisted of:
- Aadhi Suresh
- Andy Lee
- Bryan Huang
- Carson Lv
- Daisy Wei
- Decong Zeng
- Emerson Kim
- Emma Chen
- Eric Yeh
- Ethan Lou
- Hayley Shin
- Iris Sheng
- Ishaan Varshney
- Jacquelyn Lv
- Lauren Ta
- Lucas Chen
- Lydia Lo
- Nihaar Pinninti
- Ryan Jo
- Sebastian Peng
- Siyona Arun
- Yaz-Minh Buchanan
This year’s gold medals were won in six different events, including Air Trajectory, Anatomy & Physiology, Codebusters, Metric Mastery, Optics and Reach for the Stars.
These incredible achievements come on the heels of a record-breaking performance at the Southern California State Championship, where they won with a score of 38 points and became the only team in Southern California history to win a medal in all 23 events at the state competition.
“I am incredibly proud of this team as they have all grown so much individually and as a team,” stated Shaun Evola, Sierra Vista teacher and Science Olympiad Program Director. “These students are not only excelling in science, but have also displayed significant personal development, responsibility and become well-rounded citizens.”
In addition to Evola, the team is coached by head coaches Peter Tierney, Josh Hockman, Tim Elnitiarta, and Todd Munoz.
A Legacy of Excellence
Before the competition began, Joelle Cheeseman from Northwood High School was awarded one of the five $10,000 Founders’ Scholarships from the Science Olympiad USA Foundation. This scholarship is awarded to exceptional high school seniors who have made significant Science Olympiad contributions during their middle and high school years.
Cheeseman currently serves as the Vice President of the Northwood High School Science Olympiad team and was the captain of Sierra Vista’s 2022 National Champion team.
The National Competition
One of the nation’s most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math competitions, Science Olympiad brings together 120 middle and high school teams that advanced from state-level competitions this spring. Rigorous hands-on labs and events—led by experts from government agencies, top universities, industry leaders, and Science Olympiad state chapters—cover a wide range of topics including engineering, physics, epidemiology, astronomy, chemistry, robotics, and coding. This year’s tournament was held at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from May 23-24, 2025.
At the national competition, competitors received the unique opportunity to hear from U.S. Olympic gold medalist and Nebraska Engineering faculty member Curt Tomasevicz, who shared his journey and encouraged the students to take intellectual risks and follow their dreams.
Congratulations to the Sierra Vista Science Olympiad team on their remarkable win and to Joelle Cheeseman for her prestigious scholarship recognition!