SCRANTON -- We hear about high school students in our area competing in athletics all the time but on Thursday it was a battle of the minds.
About 150 students from 13 different high schools in northeastern Pennsylvania were at the University of Scranton and the competition was all about physics.
Some of the smartest kids in northeastern Pennsylvania combined all their mind power to figure out challenging physics problems. It's the University of Scranton's Kane competition pitting future physics and engineering students from 13 schools in five counties against each other.
"We learned it's not just an individual thing. Your team, you really have to work together or you won't finish. You need a bunch of brains," said Wyoming Area student Abby Thornton.
They got to see how all their calculations worked, timing a swinging ball to knock a toy from a moving train.
"It was cool, because you do this on paper and then you get to see it all work," said Scranton student Samuel Soares.
"We put a lot of practice into it this year, I mean we've been looking forward to this for months," said Scranton student John Ruby.
There was some fun mixed in too, dunking some teachers if the calculations were correct, but this is truly a competition between schools.
"I'm very competitive and stuff and that brought that out in me. It really highlighted how to work as a team instead of doing things in class on your own," said Carbondale student Moriah Mauro.
There was an individual competition to all this, too including a round of physics Jeopardy.
For the University of Scranton, this gives students a glimpse into science majors in college. All the activities are run by current students at the "U" including one who took part in this competition in high school.
"I thought it was really fun, the events are really well thought out and clever. At the time being a little high school student, it was really intimidating, so now being able to do them and knowing what they go through is a really interesting thing," said University student Mike Trischetta.
Teams from Delaware Valley and North Pocono High Schools were the winners.
TEAM COMPETITION:
First Place: Delaware Valley Team 1
Advisors: Mr. Steven Rhule and Marisa Barilka
Students: Eric Winkler, Cathy Li, Dencil Wilmont, Kyla Dewey, Dillon Puglisi
Second Place: Delaware Valley Team 2
Advisors: Mr. Steven Rhule and Marisa Barilka
Students: Maisha Shamin, Heather Reitmeyer, Josiah DeVizia, Jonathan Ramirez, Michael Prudhoe
Third Place: North Pocono Team 1
Advisor: John Croom
Students: Jerrid Carmen Demeck, Justin Robert Gensel, Aaron Goryl, Scott Lougee, Eric Woelkers and Marissa Wolfe.
INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION:
First Place: Aaron Goryl – North Pocono
Second Place: Scott Lougee – North Pocono
Third Place: Dencil Wilmot – Delaware Valley
OTHER AWARDS:
Individual:
$1,500. University of Scranton scholarship - Kurt Fisher – Scranton High School (awarded to highest individual quiz score for a student who will attend the University).
Team:
Sustainability Ingenuity Award – Forest City Team 1
Mystery Radio Ingenuity Award – Scranton High Team 2
Survival Engineering Award – Delaware Valley Team 1
Mad Scientists Ingenuity Award – Dunmore
Best Costume Award – Wyoming Area Team 1