Dozens of high school students from the Western Upper Peninsula visited the campus of Michigan Tech Wednesday.  ABC Ten’s Keweenaw Bureau Reporter Rick Allen shows how they battled each other…over biology.

Michigan Tech’s 24th annual Department of Biological Sciences Bioathlon is meant to stimulate interest and problem-solving in biology among area youth.

Students from 16 high schools from the Western U.P. split up in teams to challenge each other doing science exercises…both in the lab…and in the field.

The top three teams earn cash prizes…but everyone benefits from the experience.

Each student team tackled the same problems: dissection, molecular biology, field identification, and medical laboratory science.

In addition, teachers had their own activity.  Their activity dealt with climate change and aquatic life in the Great Lakes.  Teachers toured the Great Lakes Research Center, and discussed how climate change may alter the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Results from the Bioathlon:

The team winning FIRST PLACE was AD Johnston High School from Bessemer:  David Rowe (Instructor), Molly Wieringa, Valerie Rowe, Jess Mazzon, Zack Mazurek

The team winning SECOND PLACE was Hancock High School from Hancock:   Kristin Raisanen Schourek (Instructor), Andrew Bess, Kaylor Holmstrom, Matthew Sanregret, Aspen Stroud

The team winning the THIRD PLACE was Houghton High School from Houghton:  Alex Gerborkoff, Brittany Coombs, Kyra Neufeld, Julia Menzel-Smith, Isaac Stone