Yuma and Wray students take top spots at Northeast Regional Science Fair

Budding young scientists showed off their work as the annual Northeast Colorado Regional Science Fair returned in-person Thursday at Northeastern Junior College.

Last year’s science fair was conducted virtually due to COVID-19, but this year students were able to come together again and the competition was strong. Directed by Sonya Shaw, this year’s fair featured projects from 55 students at six different schools: Liberty, Merino and Yuma High School and Idalia, Liberty and Wray Junior High.

“Boy is it good to see this ballroom full again, we’ve had some lean years with our science fair but we stuck to it,” Shaw said, telling the students “you guys really buckled down and did a great job.”

Best in Fair winner for the senior division was Fatima Duran and Best in Fair Runner-Up was Ana Alarcon, both from Yuma. Duran qualifies to compete at the International Science and Engineering Fair, May 7-13, in Atlanta and Alarcon is an alternate. Penny Propst has provided a $1,000 cash scholarship for Duran to cover the cost of going to the international science fair.

Other finalists were Cesar Varela from Yuma; Tonya Rothbauer from Liberty; Bridger Lynch from Yuma; Ana Sofia Hernandez Zarate from Yuma; Denton Peil from Yuma; and Dyhlani Perez from Yuma.

All finalists qualified to compete at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair, April 7-8, at Colorado State University and

Top finishers in the junior division were Jaden DePue and Scarlett Paulson from Wray Junior High in first place; Kaycee Clark also from Wray in second place; and Boderick Kite from Idalia in third place.

Other finalists included Haydan Drullinger from Liberty; Juakin Sawatzky from Liberty; Aidan Baar from Liberty; Tyler Wise from Liberty; Grace Jones from Wray; and Augustus Gdanitz from Wray.

All finalists qualified to compete at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair.

Receiving the Director’s Choice Award were Tyler Wise (Liberty) and Haydan Drullinger (Liberty).

For Kinley Eyring, a senior at Yuma High School, this was her second year competing in the science fair and first in-person fair. She decided to come back and compete again after first entering last year because she wants to get her STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) diploma and that requires two years of research.

For her project this year she examined the factors influencing COVID-19 vaccination preferences.

“The talk about vaccines has been so controversial; I wanted to see what main factors influenced the vaccination rate in my area,” Eyring said.

Her results were inconclusive, she found there wasn’t one single factor that influenced people “just because everyone is so different,” she said.

Asked if she enjoyed doing the project Eyring was quick to respond, “of course, I always have fun.” It is also a great way to help her prepare for her future as she looks to major in biomedical sciences when she goes to college.

For students like Alora Dible, a seventh grader at Liberty Junior High, this was her first time competing in the science fair.

“I wanted to learn more about different things and do research on things that interest me,” she said when asked why she wanted to enter the science fair.

For her topic, she chose to research the effects of temperature on crop yield.

“Eastern Colorado is very agriculture heavy and has temperature and water issues during the summer growing season, I thought it would be cool to research something that might help the farmers in my family,” Dible said.

She had a fun time learning that the higher the temperature is the lower the crop yield and said she will probably enter the science fair again next year.

Her classmate, sixth grader Taelyn Rojas, was also a first-time competitor at the fair. For her project, she examined the effects of wildfire temperatures on seed germination and found that a lot of seeds germinate in warmer temperatures.

“It was fun, I’d do it again,” Rojas said about working on her project.

At an awards ceremony at the end of the day, several special awards were handed out. Winners include:

American Psychological Association – Kaycee Clark (Wray),  Ally Mermis (Yuma)

American Association for Women in Geoscience – Feona Sears (Liberty), Alora Dible (Liberty)

ASM Materials Education Foundation – Taylor Towns (Idalia)

Lemelson Early Inventor Prize – Taylor Towns (Idalia)

NASA Earth System Science – Tonya Rothbauer (Liberty), Agustus Gdanitz (Wray)

NOAA’s Pulse of the Planet Award – Taelyn Rojas (Liberty), Hunter Drullinger (Liberty)

Ricoh Sustainable Development Award – Juakin Swatzkt (Liberty)

Stockholm Regional Water Prize – Haydan Drullinger (Liberty)

Society for In Vitro Biology – Jaden DePue (Wray), Scarlett Paulson (Wray,) Maria Horn (Yuma)

Colorado Chapter of Social and Water Conservation Society – Tyler Wise (Liberty), first place junior division Aidan Barr (Liberty), second place junior division, Garret Drullinger (Liberty, first place senior division and Denton Peil (Yuma),  second place senior division

U.S. Agency for International Development – Anna Alarcon (Yuma)

U.S. Air Force Science Award – Luke Freeman (Wray), Dyhlani Perez (Yuma), Ella Deyle (Wray), Trace Wieser (Idalia), Holden Sanger

U.S. Naval Research Award – Kaitlyn Helling (Idalia), Ansley DePue (Wray), Kinley Eyring (Yuma), Ana Sofia Hernandez Zarate (Yuma)

Yale Science and Engineering Association – Deacon Brown (Yuma)

Category awards were handed out as well. Awards in the junior division went to:

• Animal Science – Gave Kechter (Liberty), first place; Jace Barnes, second place; Matthew Schmidt (Wray), third place
• Chemistry – Lauren Gdanitz (Wray), first place; Koda Drager (Liberty), second place; Tynan Lohman,3rd place
• Earth and Space Science – Aidan Barr (Liberty), first place
• Engineering – Taylor Towns (Idalia), first place
• Environmental Science – Cory Gdanitz (Wray), first place; Juakin Sawatzky (Liberty), second place; Taylor Rojas (Liberty), third place;;
• Microbiology – Scarlett Paulson and Jaden DePue (Wray), first place; Hunter Drullinger (Liberty), second place; Augustus Gdnaitz (Wray), third place
• Physics – Haydan Drullinger (Liberty), first place; Ethan Burton (Liberty), second place; Holden Sager, third place
• Plant Science –Tyler Wise (Liberty), first place; Kaitlyn Helling (Idalia), second place; Alora Dible (Liberty) third place

Awards in the senior division went to:

• Zoology and Animal Science – Cesar Varela (Yuma), first place and Tonya Rothbauer (Liberty), second place
• Behavioral Science – Tiemy Montes (Yuma), first place; Ally Mermis (Yuma), second place; Alyson Gardner (Yuma), third place
• Chemistry – Feona Sears, honorable mention
• Earth and Space Science – Garret Drullinger (Liberty), first place
• Engineering – Bridger Lynch and Evan Roberts (Yuma), first place; Ana Alarcon (Yuma), second place; Deacon Brown (Yuma), third place
• Health and Medicine – Fatima Duran (Yuma), first place; Dyhlani Perez (Yuma), second place; Kinley Ering (Yuma), third place
• Physics – Conner Lynch (Yuma), first place